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As you read this we will be on our way to another homeschool convention, this time in Duluth, Minnesota. Conventions can be great opportunities to recharge your batteries, discover new resources, and connect with kindred spirits. They can also become…
About a year ago we were scouring the shelves of an antique book store and came across a world history book for “young readers.” We gave it the one-page test and couldn’t put it down. The author had such a…
Usually the question goes something like this: “Nature study is a great idea, but I don’t know the names of the flowers and trees and birds, myself. What should I do?” I know, I faced the same situation. But SCM…
The new issue of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is now online and we’re pleased to be the host this time! As we mentioned last time, a blog carnival is a collection of blog posts about a common topic gathered…
My heart is full. My mind is revving. My face is smiling. You see, I just finished reading the posts listed below. What a treat! They are a wonderful mixture of personal encouragement, humble challenges, and practical ideas. First are…
Over the past two weeks we have looked at two practical Do Not bits of counsel that Charlotte gave her student teachers: Do Not Sit up Late and Do Not Bury Yourself in the Book. Charlotte’s ideas and teachings are…
Last week we looked at the first of three Do Not tips that Charlotte gave her student teachers: Do not sit up late preparing lessons. As many of you confirmed in your comments on that post, these practical Do Not’s…
In reading some advice that Charlotte Mason gave to her student teachers, three little gems stood out to me. Interestingly, they all start with “Do not.” But don’t let the negative wording intimidate you. These Do Not’s are not designed…
In the very first pages of her book, Home Education, Charlotte Mason challenged mothers to give their children a “thinking love.” It’s easy to give our children an indulgent love that caters to their every whim. Or a lazy love…
Today was a day of small things. It looked something like this: Walk the dog Clear off kitchen counter Make grocery list at breakfast Take a phone message Put a load of jeans in the washer Teach young one’s schoolwork…
Those of you who have been on our e-mail list for a while know that we don’t normally release products so closely together. We try very hard to keep our posts mostly full of great Charlotte Mason homeschool tips. But…
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.)…
As you learned last time, Charlotte Mason’s reading lessons used two approaches: sight words and word-building. To add variety and keep things interesting for the student, Charlotte alternated lessons between the two. Last week we described how to do a…
Up to this point in our series on teaching your child to read, we have been talking about informal play activities. Once your child can read several dozen words from those activities, it’s time to start actual reading lessons. Charlotte…
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…
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,…
Isaiah 9:6 has been sitting in the Daily section of our Scripture Memory box lately. For unto us a child is bornUnto us a son is givenAnd the government shall be upon his shoulderAnd his name shall be calledWonderful CounselorMighty…
What do you picture in your mind when you read the word “obstacle”? How large of an obstacle do you imagine? Obstacles can be of various sizes, you know. For example, you might encounter an empty tissue box sitting on…
My daughter just showed me a little mouse that she knitted today. It’s the cutest little thing, with a tiny knit hat and pink ears peeking over the top. She found the pattern and decided to knit it just for…
“What’s the point?” I often ask myself that question, especially when it comes to various demands on my time. If someone tells me I should add a certain activity to my already-full schedule, I want to know why. Tell me…
Our family is preparing for a large family reunion this week. One of the biggest parts of that preparation is planning the menus and gathering the ingredients for our time of feasting. But even as we walk the grocery store…
There is one question we see a lot when talking about elementary science lessons: “But is it enough?” Charlotte Mason used nature study and living science books with narration to teach science in the younger grades. We CMers want to…
Why is it that one fault can be so glaring we can’t see past it? It becomes easy to stare fixedly at the bad attitude or the sloppy work or the once-again-forgotten chore or the disorderly room and never look…
On Monday it seemed like most of my friends on Facebook were saying the same thing, “Can you believe it’s November already? Where has the year gone!” 2011 is fast approaching, and our latest calendar journal, The Way of the…
“You mean I don’t have to teach English grammar all year long in every grade?” Esther was astonished. “You’re already teaching the correct way to use words every time you have the children read or write or tell or listen.…
If you have been following our Language Arts series from the beginning, you will remember that Charlotte Mason approached language arts in a balanced two-pronged way: first, she integrated many language arts skills into regular school subjects; and second, she…
In studying to put together our new book, Hearing and Reading, Telling and Writing: A Charlotte Mason Language Arts Handbook, I was once again amazed at the way Charlotte could take a simple idea and pack it full of benefits.…
People often ask me what curriculum I used to teach my children to read. I didn’t use one. We just played with letters and their sounds, and eventually, when they were ready, I showed them how to put those sounds…
If I were to ask you to write about your favorite kitchen appliance, your brain would begin working right away. In fact, you’re probably picturing your favorite appliance in your mind’s eye right now. Your mind would think of all…
Narration is a cornerstone of Charlotte Mason’s language arts program. She wrote extensively on the subject, giving lots of helpful and practical tips. In one sense, narration is simple; in another sense, it is an art form. So it’s no…
If your school experience was anything like mine, you most likely sat through a multitude of vocabulary worksheets and reading comprehension worksheets in every grade. Plus, you probably had a separate class for Literature in junior high or high school.…
As we mentioned last week, Charlotte taught all the language arts skills in just a few power-packed subjects. One of Charlotte’s main strategies was to integrate language arts studies into other subjects, rather than pulling them out as separate skills.…
We all know how hard it is to find a good living book that relates American history from 1900–2010. Well, we would like to do something about that, and we would love for you to join us. Here’s the idea.…
In my years of helping other Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, probably the one topic that comes up most often is language arts. I receive questions from “How do you do language arts the Charlotte Mason way?” to “What about composition?” to…
Thanks to everyone who posted comments on last week’s article about the various Bible study resources we offer. We’re pleased to announce that our random drawing awarded these three people each a study of her choice: Stephanie selected Wisdom for…
Charlotte Mason thought that the Bible lesson should be the most important lesson of the day. We think so too. But as my children grew older, I found it harder to apply Charlotte’s wonderful principles of direct contact with Scripture…
We promised a little surprise this week and here it is: We are pleased to offer you this free book, Getting Started in Homeschooling. All the information from this Getting Started article series, plus more helpful material, is collected into…
When I got married, I knew how to cook exactly two dishes: canned soup over rice and macaroni and cheese from a box. (And once I forgot to drain the macaroni.) Needless to say, those first few meals required a…
When I first heard about the Charlotte Mason Method, I envisioned my children and me sitting on the couch, reading wonderful books together and smiling. Well, we have done a lot of reading—and a lot of smiling—with the wonderful books.…
Don’t you love it when you can take just a couple of basic ideas, combine them with a couple of skills, and use them to accomplish a lot? Take sewing, for example. The basic ideas to keep in mind for…
Our family has been cooking and serving some meals for large groups lately. That’s a new adventure for us—not the cooking part, the “for large groups” part. So we’ve been scouring the Internet for helpful tips, ideas, and recipes. Along…
“So they just send you the books, and you do them at home?” I still remember the puzzled lady at the grocery store trying to wrap her mind around “homeschooling.” I’m afraid she would have been even more puzzled had…
Planning season is upon us, and many people are using our free SCM Curriculum Guide to help make those decisions easier. We’ve been getting some questions on how our History, Bible, and Geography modules work, so let’s take a moment…
In this final installment of our Way of the Will series, let’s look at how the habit of attention affects your child’s success in strengthening his will to do what is right even when he doesn’t feel like it. The…
As we begin to wrap up this “Way of the Will” 5-part series, let’s look at what Charlotte called “the secret of a happy life.” If you had been a student in one of Charlotte Mason’s schools, you would have…
We hope you’re enjoying the articles in the “Way of the Will” series. Charlotte had so many very practical insights and tips for parents! We’re happy to announce that our new calendar journal, The Way of the Will, is now…
So far in this series on “The Way of the Will,” we have talked about a child who wants to have his own way and lets you know about it in no uncertain terms. But what about those children who…
Last week we discovered that, according to Charlotte Mason, what we often call a strong-willed child is really a child with a weak will. Today let’s talk a little about how to help our children develop strong wills that can…
We are beginning a new series today on “The Way of the Will.” Over the next few weeks we will take a look at some of Charlotte Mason’s thoughts on how our children’s wills shape their characters for life. If…
At the Texas Book Fair last weekend, we were able to help many homeschoolers who were trying to stay within their budgets. And when we would tell them about all the free resources on our Web site, it was fun…
