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Last week we talked about the methods that remain consistent through high school when approached the Charlotte Mason way: a wide variety of subjects, living books, and narration. This week let’s take a closer look at specific subjects. It appears…
High School. Maybe it’s the name. Maybe it’s the emphasis our culture seems to place on its importance. Maybe it’s the expectations that we carry from our own past experiences. Whatever the cause, it seems like many factors can contribute…
Charlotte Mason had a knack for keeping school interesting. Not only did she include a variety of subjects, but she taught those subjects with enjoyable (and effective) methods. Take the subject of spelling, for example. Most of us were taught…
We have enjoyed some wonderful discussions on the SCM Forum lately. Here are some highlights that are sure to furnish you with ideas, encourage you along your homeschooling path, or give you some helpful tips. They Are Asking for Grades—What…
Don’t you just love it when you discover a way to make an old favorite even better? Like when my daughter comes up with a change to an old family recipe that makes us all ask for seconds or even…
We’re finishing up our series on CM Myths today. So far we have talked about these myths: CM Myth #1: Charlotte Mason was a homeschooling mom. CM Myth #2: Charlotte Mason never made a mistake selecting living books. CM Myth…
As we continue our fun series on CM Myths, I hope these posts are serving to encourage and, hopefully, educate you a little too. This week we will take a look at the idea that Charlotte Mason never used any…
We’ve all been there. We hear about a great book, we do the research, we gather raving reviews from others, and we spend the money. Full of eager anticipation, we dig into the first chapter with our kids gathered around.…
We’re starting a fun new series of posts this week: CM Myths. Over the next few weeks we will be investigating some of the statements we’ve heard people make about Charlotte Mason. We hope this series will help you learn…
It’s our pleasure to announce a new free e-book on habits, Smooth and Easy Days with Charlotte Mason. A new year lies before us. Perhaps you have some new goals and commitments with the turning of the calendar page. No…
We’re in the process of cataloging our home library with some new software. It’s turning out to be a great time of renewing old acquaintances. Books that I knew I had read somewhere turn up in the back row of…
Many school subjects are easy to do all together as a family regardless of the ages of the children. Last week we talked about how to combine the grade levels for subjects that involve books. This week let’s look at…
You may be thinking, “Combining all my students for certain subjects sounds like a great idea, but what does it look like?” Glad you asked. Let’s talk first about Family subjects that are taught primarily with living books. In our…
Ever since we began homeschooling, I’ve combined all the school-age children for as many subjects as possible. That decision has saved countless hours, both in planning and in teaching. I love to recommend that strategy everywhere we go. At some…
When we started Simply Charlotte Mason several years ago, we asked the Lord to make our efforts a blessing to the families He would bring our way. But we never realized how much the families He brought our way would…
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…
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,”…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
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…
“This homeschooling full-time looks so intimidating!” “I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up with everything that is expected of me.” “What if one of my children has special needs, or what if I get sick, or what if…
Thanks to everyone who submitted their definitions of “twaddle” on last week’s post! If you haven’t read the definitions yet, we encourage you to do so soon. One of the reasons we wanted to discuss twaddle was to help us…
We have a secret. Well, it’s not really meant to be a secret. It’s meant to be a big help to you. So we’re letting everybody know about the secret . . . that’s not supposed to be a secret.…
What a great time we’ve had traveling to North Carolina, Iowa, and Ohio the past few weeks and meeting many of you at the homeschool book fairs and conventions! We’re looking forward to one more Expo the end of this…
One question Karen and I get asked quite often is, “What do you think about (insert name here) math curriculum?” It’s an interesting question for two reasons: first, Charlotte Mason didn’t specify exactly how she taught all the levels of…
We’re finishing up a series today on how the Charlotte Mason Method differs from other homeschool approaches you may have heard of. We’ve already discussed how Charlotte Mason is different from a traditional approach, unit studies, and the classical approach.…
So far in our series, we’ve looked at the three key questions that will help us discern the differences between homeschooling methods, and we’ve talked about how the Charlotte Mason method is different from a traditional curriculum and from unit…
We hope you have been enjoying our current series on how the Charlotte Mason Method is different from other homeschool approaches. We’ll get back to our series next week. This week we wanted to let you know about a great…
When I started homeschooling more than thirteen years ago, I used a unit study approach because I thought it was my only alternative to a traditional curriculum. At the end of that year I heard about Charlotte Mason and knew…
“What’s the difference between the Charlotte Mason Method and the traditional curriculum that I’ve been using?” Last weekend at the North Carolina homeschoolers convention we heard that question several times. It’s a great question. In this series we are discussing…
Have you been trying to decide what homeschooling method or curriculum to use or just how to homeschool? Obviously, we like the Charlotte Mason method around here, but how does that compare to the others? And what is the difference…
One of my goals for my older students is to teach them how to perform various types of Bible studies, like character studies or topical studies. So I try to incorporate that goal in our history and Bible study each…
Well, I almost have my voice back. Those of you who were at the Georgia homeschool convention (GHEA) this past weekend know what I’m talking about. We had a great time chatting with the hundreds of people who stopped by…
When I was growing up in Sunday School and church, I heard the stories of the Bible many times. I could tell you all the details of Who, What, Why, and How. But I never thought about the When. I…
I well remember the first homeschool convention I attended. I was very excited to gain the insights and tips from the workshops I had selected from the brochure’s schedule. I was eager to listen to veteran homeschoolers, get some encouragement,…
Last week we highlighted the four schooling methods that Charlotte Mason said to avoid. One of those methods is the practice of giving grades. We’ve received several inquiries from our readers with great questions about how avoiding grades would look…
The past few weeks we’ve been talking about feeding our children’s natural curiosity and desire for knowledge by using living books and natural things. Those Charlotte Mason methods help our children form relations that result in true education. But did…
Many people equate living books with the Charlotte Mason method. And that’s well and good. Living books are a big part of her approach, as we’ve discussed during recent posts. But a Charlotte Mason education is not based just on…
Today is grocery day at our house. And you can be sure that after last time’s post, I’m going to be picky in the produce section. But you know, bringing home that delightful food is just the first step. It’s…
It’s rather entertaining to watch shoppers in the produce section. Some approach a fruit stand with fear and trepidation. They know they’re supposed to be picky about which mangos they buy, but they haven’t the foggiest idea how to tell…
Fleece. Dyeing. Carding. Spinning. A year ago I recognized those words and could define them accurately. But in the past several months my oldest daughter has taken up dyeing and spinning as a hobby. Now when I hear someone mention…
“Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there stood in a large orchard a beautiful Apple-Tree. All through the long winter it had held out bare branches. The March sun whispered to it that spring had come. But…
After our previous post, many of you contacted us to find out where you might be able to get a copy of the book we mentioned: The Swedish Drill Teacher by M. H. Spalding. Originally published in 1910, this book…
This idea of Swedish drill that Charlotte Mason used in her schools intrigued me, so I went on a hunt for more information. Well, the wonderful inter-library loan lady at my local library found me a gem: The Swedish Drill…
It’s the middle of winter and many of us are looking for more ways to give the children exercise indoors during inclement weather. A couple of physical recreation activities that Charlotte Mason used in her schools can come to the…
Like many of you, I enjoy reading the Mitford books by Jan Karon. But you may be surprised to hear which one is my favorite: Patches of Godlight, a journal of quotes and mottoes that the fictional Father Tim has…
Do you ever feel like you’re on the Mommy See-saw? “I must teach my child to obey, yet I don’t want to be a dictator.” “I want my child to enjoy his childhood, but I can’t just allow him to…
