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I hope the two tips we’ve covered so far have encouraged you to prepare for a successful homeschool year: plan for variety and shop with purpose. Today I want to remind you of one more quick tip: flex with life.…
Last week we looked at Tip #1 for a successful homeschool year: Plan for Variety. Today let’s continue with our quick reminders and Tip #2. Tip #2: Shop with Purpose Just as it is difficult to create a building project…
Let’s keep this short, because it’s summer and you’re probably trying to juggle summer fun with fall planning. So here’s the scoop: over the next three weeks I want to pass along three quick tips that will help you have…
We’re pleased to announce that the newly revised Second Edition of Matthew through Acts & Ancient Rome is now available, along with another new geography notebook, Visits to Europe! The daily lesson plans in Matthew through Acts & Ancient Rome,…
This past week I had the privilege of talking with a mom in Germany. She has several children and a new baby due very soon, and she and her husband are hoping to move to Canada. You see, homeschooling is…
Did you know that Samson was born just 30 years after the Trojan War? Or that Malachi was prophesying in Israel at the same time Socrates was teaching in Greece? Those are just some of the fascinating mental connections that…
We are delighted to present a brand new Charlotte Mason homeschool conference coming this summer: Preschool through High School the Charlotte Mason Way! This two-day event, hosted by River City Homeschool Adventures, will be held in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday…
We are happy to announce the arrival of two new resources: Genesis through Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt, Third Edition, and Visits to Africa. Those of you who have been eagerly awaiting the release of our newly revised lesson plans for…
Sometimes the question is asked by a newbie who is just beginning to research the different approaches to homeschooling. Other times a fellow CMer asks the question because she likes to hear more about something she enjoys too. Then again,…
As we’ve been traveling this homeschool convention season, two repeated scenarios have come to the forefront of my mind because they have reinforced basic Charlotte Mason principles. In other words, I’ve made a couple of mental connections that I’d like…
As we travel to various homeschool conventions across the nation, there is much to observe, much to learn. This season I have been pondering two lessons that have been played out in the exhibit hall again and again. I’ll share…
It’s so much fun to see Charlotte Mason’s principles play out right in front of your eyes! Recently I was presenting the workshop “Charlotte Mason & Her Methods” at a homeschool convention. It was late at night after a full…
This spring I am learning to treasure a certain Charlotte Mason phrase more deeply than ever. Charlotte talked about recognizing “the familiar face of a friend.” As we travel to various homeschool conventions across the country, it is a joy…
Several months ago, a friend posted a description of how she was using pictures of ancient artifacts with a group of children who were studying the book of Daniel. As I followed the links to those pictures, I became aware…
Yesterday we spent a delightful hour meandering around a pretty botanical garden near our home. Clouds of white azaleas lined the walkways, rosebuds of every color peeked around pillars, and fuzzy gray goslings trailed after their parents in the pond.…
A few weeks ago as we backed the truck out of the driveway, I was delighted to see the first blossom on the Carolina Jessamine vine that grows around our mailbox on the curb. I had noticed several buds a…
Spring. A time of growth. The budding leaves and blooming phlox around my house are beautiful reminders of the truth that children learn in order to grow. Charlotte Mason believed that. Children learn in order to grow, not just to…
We’ve been talking about instilling good habits. Charlotte Mason likened that process to laying down railroad tracks upon which our children’s lives can run smoothly, without a lot of unnecessary bumping and jolting. Many people have told us that these…
Last week we discussed how important repetition is in forming a new habit. Just as hours of practicing a pirouette makes it easier to perform one, so lots of practice at a new skill—like getting out of bed at a…
A couple of evenings ago, my daughter and I enjoyed watching two ballet dancers, a husband and wife, perform to one of my favorite Beethoven pieces. Their movements were absolutely beautiful! We knew they were stretching and stressing their muscles…
Ever since we started publishing the Picture Study Portfolios, we’ve had requests for one on Claude Monet and one on Vincent van Gogh. People wanted those two artists not only because the beautiful quality of our art prints would do…
It is always interesting to hear the reasons different parents give for deciding to homeschool their children. We’ve heard many explanations and reasons over the years. But one thing we have never heard a parent say: “I’m homeschooling because I…
We are gearing up for traveling to homeschool conventions over the next several weeks. And as I check each convention’s website for a schedule, I am reminded how much that goes on at a convention is not on the schedule.…
Our friends just made a 12-hour drive across four states with their four children. They listened to audiobooks on the trip. Another friend spends hours in her van each day, dropping off and picking up her oldest daughter in their…
The time has come for your child to perform the Act of Knowing. We’ve discussed the first three steps to a successful narration lesson: pick a good living book, look ahead and behind, and read the passage. Those steps are…
We’ve been talking about the 5 steps to a successful narration lesson, and today we want to continue that series. So far we’ve discussed the importance of selecting a good living book. Book selection can make or break your child’s…
Probably the best way to illustrate Step 2 is to talk about the importance of framework. I saw an interesting video clip in which some instructions were read that were difficult to remember or to relate with. But once the…
Last week we started a new series, 5 Steps to Successful Narration. Do you remember the five steps? Don’t worry, we’ll review them often as we talk our way through them over the coming weeks. It’s tempting to think that…
My husband has been lifting weights for several months now in an effort to get into shape and improve his health. It’s been good. The program he is using challenges him to regularly increase the number of pounds he lifts,…
I’ve been thinking a lot about balance since I read the book In Search of Balance by Richard Swenson last fall. (His book Margin is an all-time favorite of mine, by the way.) As much as we hear about being…
It has been such a treat to be able to read history with my children over the past seventeen years of homeschooling. The Charlotte Mason method of using living books has made the various time periods come alive for me,…
New arrivals bring excitement! Just this morning the doorbell rang and I found two cardboard boxes with little printed smiles on my front porch. As I waved to the man driving the big brown truck, the questions rang out from…
Next week the children and I will recite together Luke 2:1–20. It’s always a blessing to hear that passage read aloud, but you cannot know the thrill of hearing it recited together as a family until you have experienced it…
Encouragement. We all need it. We all welcome it with open arms when it comes our way. Sometimes it comes as a heartfelt reassurance: Yes, you can do this! Sometimes it appears in the form of a practical tip: This…
Have you ever listened to a debate rage—both sides championing their points in ever-louder voices and ever-longer speeches—and you suddenly realized that they’re both wrong? It’s not a matter of which of the two sides is correct; it’s a matter…
If you’ve been in Charlotte Mason homeschooling very long, you know the emphasis Charlotte put on doing things only once. She explained that we cultivate the habit of attention by reading the passage only once before requiring a narration. We…
Somehow Thanksgiving snuck up on me this year. Usually I make it a point to get out Thanksgiving decorations on November 1, because I like to remind everyone that there is an important holiday before Christmas too. I pull out…
We’re happy to be hosting the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival this week. The carnival has been pondering the 20 Principles of a CM Education over the year, and this edition of the carnival centers on #19. I love Principle 19.…
Along about this time of year we homeschoolers usually have a pretty good feel for what is working and what needs to be changed. Whether it is what time we get up in the morning, who does which subject when,…
I still recall the time many years ago when we scraped the bottom of our newlywed bank account to buy a gift for a little boy. We got him a sturdy but simple toy car. No flashing lights, no screeching…
At the store yesterday I noticed a display of 2013 calendars. Most were the kind that you hang on the wall, but I’ve come to prefer the kind that are printed like a book with plenty of room to write.…
Seventeen years ago, when I first heard a description of the Charlotte Mason Method, my heart resonated with that brief snippet. If you had asked me then why I was drawn to CM above all the other approaches to homeschooling,…
Every year Practical Homeschooling magazine hosts their much-anticipated Reader Awards for various homeschool resources. The way it works is that the magazine’s readers have an opportunity to nominate their favorite products; then once the ballot is compiled, everyone votes on…
In the past whenever I read Charlotte Mason’s statement about math, “I need not touch upon the subject of Mathematics. It is receiving ample attention, and is rapidly becoming an instrument for living teaching in our schools” (Vol. 3, p.…
We’re pleased to announce the release of our latest Bible study, written in a Charlotte Mason style that encourages the students to interact directly with Scripture. Come, Lord Jesus: Lessons from Revelation walks your whole family through the book of…
A smiling homeschool mom greeted me at a convention recently with these words: “Love, love, love the Scripture Memory System!” Of course, her comment made me smile too. It does my heart good when I hear that other families are…
Over the past three weeks we have pondered some wonderful gems of wisdom from Charlotte Mason. Wisdom Gem #1: “Always remember that persons matter more than things. Don’t say anything that will leave a sting.” Wisdom Gem #2: “State your…
My friend Ruth is 61. She is an exuberant veteran homeschooler who has graduated three and spends her days encouraging other homeschool students and parents. She also recently lost 120 pounds. When I asked Ruth to tell me her story,…
Most of us have chosen a “different” path in life. We homeschool. And even more than that, we don’t use a traditional method of homeschooling. We use Charlotte Mason’s approach. Those choices can be unsettling to onlookers. And if that’s…
I’ve been reading The Lord of the Rings lately, and one striking illustration has leapt off the pages again and again: whenever the enemy inflicts a wound, a deep sting is embedded that stays and debilitates even after the flesh…
