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The past few weeks we’ve been discussing Charlotte Mason methods for assessing what our children remember. Last time we looked briefly at narration. Now, those of you who have already read it, no peeking. What do you recall about narration?…
Last week we started a new series discussing the Charlotte Mason methods we can use to evaluate, or assess, what our children are learning. If you missed that introduction, you can read it on our SCM Blog. Today let’s talk…
As we wrap up a school year and plan for the next one, the question lurks in the back of our minds: How much does my child remember? Some assessments are built right in to the subject, like math and…
Do you feel like a cloud is hanging over your head this summer? I don’t mean a typical rain cloud; I mean a cloud called “Planning.” Sometimes that planning cloud casts a little shadow over all our activities. We know…
We had a great time in Iowa the past two weeks. It was so good to meet all of you Iowa CMers! And while we were there, I was able to finish the next book of daily lesson plans: Joshua…
We are in Iowa this week getting ready for the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators’ conference Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7, in Des Moines. You can find the details on the NICHE site. Sonya will present a…
We’re pleased to announce several new features on the CM Organizer and CM Bookfinder are now up and running. Here’s a quick overview: Daily Journal note CM Organizer users asked for it, and here it is. With this new feature…
We just wanted to drop you all a quick note to let you know that SCM will be at the Georgia Home Education Association conference this weekend, May 2 and 3, near Atlanta. You can find registration details at GHEA’s…
We had a wonderful time Saturday at our All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar! Here are a couple of comments from those who attended: “Today’s seminar was both informative and empowering! The ‘how-to’ was invaluable, the materials were excellent, and the practice…
I received this note today from a fellow CMer in California: California is in a fight to save homeschooling. Basic parental rights of how to raise our kids are at stake. If California succeeds in making homeschooling illegal, other states…
I have fondly dubbed 2008 as “The Year of A/V.” Yes, due to numerous requests from our readers, SCM is jumping into audio and video this year. We hope to make audio and video recordings of several of our workshops…
We’re pleased to be the host for this 11th edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival! This edition is dedicated to Mother Culture and to all those mothers who need a good mental “airing” during these last weeks of winter.
We’re excited to be hosting the next Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival on February 19! (A blog carnival is an event where bloggers all write posts about a topic, which are collected and linked to on the hosting blog.) Since this…
Have you visited the SCM Community Forum lately? We’re having some great discussions! Here are a few highlights . . .
“Daniel, I expect you to play nicely with your brother. Yes, Katie, I can change the baby’s diaper now; you go ahead and practice piano. Sarah, I’ll be right there to help you with your math. Hang on just a…
We hope you have enjoyed the past few weeks as we focused on Masterly Inactivity. The articles we shared with you are taken from our new 2008 personal calendar journal, A Year of Masterly Inactivity with Charlotte Mason. Several more…
“What do you try to control instead of allowing God to control?” the small-group leader posed the question. He gave an example, then someone else mentioned an area that hit home. “I try to control everything for my children,” she…
You’ve seen them — parents who are hoodwinked by their children time and time again. Suzy is a little terror to the other children, pulling hair and pushing the little ones. But when her mom enters the scene just as…
Here is an invitation for all of you who live in the Atlanta area. Join us for a wonderful evening of encouragement and refreshing on Thursday, January 10. Sonya will be sharing her workshop, “Reaching Your Child’s Heart,” at Calvary…
When our first two children were still preschoolers, my husband took them to the park without me. I had some work to finish up, so they went ahead and walked the two blocks before me. About twenty minutes later I…
Are you having a happy Christmas, or is that not the word you would choose to describe your attitude this year? It seems that these days it’s getting easier to focus on the problems and stress factors of the Christmas…
Have you ever heard of the game Mother, May I? No, I don’t mean the innocent little game of “baby steps” and “kangaroo hops.” I mean the “game” of pestering and whining, “Mother, may I stay up late tonight? Pleeeeeeze,…
A fenced-in backyard can be a wonderful thing when you have small children. Ask any mother who has spent a hot summer day chasing after her adventurous terrier and perpetually active toddler. Fences are good.
I remember two parties I attended when I was growing up. One was a sleepover at which I saw the parent only once: at breakfast. The rest of the time we girls were left to do anything and everything we…
We love our children. And we have great hopes for them. As Charlotte Mason so aptly put it, “People feel that they can bring up their children to be something more than themselves, that they ought to do so, and…
We, here at SCM, are thankful to God for you, our fellow CMers who encourage us as we walk this journey alongside you; our children and yours, whose faces confirm that learning can be enjoyable; snow up north in Illinois…
We’re excited to announce the latest resource on Simply Charlotte Mason: our new SCM Community Forum! Many of you have asked for a place to discuss CM topics in general and SCM-specific topics as well. It’s our pleasure to provide…
Fall and winter seem to be good seasons for handicrafts. There’s just something appealing about being in a warm, comfortable room and working with your hands while the wind blows outside. Thanks to Charlotte Mason for including handicrafts in her…
We’re excited about the new Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival that has just been started! A blog carnival is like a carnival in that it presents many things in one place. Usually the organizers announce a topic and a host blog,…
Two highlights have added excitement to our July here at Simply Charlotte Mason! First, we just published a new book — that is also an old friend.
We’ve had a lot of new sign-ups to the e-mail list lately. Welcome to all of you! Our regular readers know that we try to keep a good balance between teaching posts and site announcements. Today, we’re excited to let…
We’ve had a great response to our series on Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life — Charlotte Mason’s three-pronged approach to educating our children! It’s been refreshing to go back to the basics over the past few weeks.…
Charlotte Mason described her approach to education in three words; she said, “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.” We’ve already looked at the first two words. Today let’s talk about Education is a Life.
To most of us, the idea of self-discipline comes with a mental picture of a ball and chain. We think of discipline as a taskmaster, forcing us to do what we don’t really want to do. Today let’s change that…
1. Charlotte Mason encouraged us moms to concentrate on forming one habit at a time, keeping watch over those habits already formed. Soon it will become your habit to cultivate good habits in your children.
We’ve been discussing the three words Charlotte Mason used to describe her approach to education: Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life. The past three posts explored how the ideas that rule your life as a parent affect the…
My husband John thinks in word pictures, and several years ago he described a word picture that has stuck in my mind ever since. He explained that some people are like thermostats and some are like thermometers. A thermostat regulates…
Just a quick note to let you know that the response to the printed version of Laying Down the Rails has been very good, so we have begun the process of making other Simply Charlotte Mason titles available in printed…
Last week we began discussing the three words that lay the foundation to the Charlotte Mason way of homeschooling. These three words can help guide your decisions about curriculum choices, schedules, goals, and more. Charlotte Mason said, “Education is an…
Many of you are making plans, doing research, and trying to get a handle on upcoming subjects even as you finish current ones. Some of you are preparing to enter those huge (often intimidating) vendor halls at homeschooling conventions near…
In our previous post about why the CM Organizer is an online service, we promised to talk later about the advantage of security and backups you get with the CM Organizer.
1. Forgetting that the child is a person. One of Charlotte Mason’s chief principles is “The child is a person with all the possibilities and powers included in personality” (Vol. 1, p. 4). Each child is unique. Become a student…
We really enjoyed “meeting” you and talking with you at the Webinars last week! You had lots of great questions and lots of great suggestions. A couple of questions came up frequently, and we would like to answer those for…
Over the past few weeks, we’ve enjoyed a little jaunt through Charlotte Mason’s five categories of habits: decency and propriety, mental habits, moral habits, and physical habits. Today we’ll round out the five categories by looking at religious habits.
Since Laying Down the Rails, our new habits book, was released we have received many requests for a printed version. Today we’re happy to announce that Laying Down the Rails is now available in printed form!
In our discussion on habits, we’ve already looked at the power of good habits, habits of decency and propriety, mental habits, and moral habits. Today we’ll take a look at physical habits.
Wow! February has arrived sooner than I expected. Just wanted to let you know that I (Sonya) will be presenting three workshops in Bishop, Georgia, on February 10:
This week we’ll continue our discussion of Charlotte Mason habits bylooking at moral habits. Moral habits are commonly thought of as character traits. But if you think about it, character is formed by habits. “Sow a thought, reap an action;…
Did you ever have a project that expanded? I started on a little project last year and just completed it last week. In the process it expanded into quite a large project! Here’s the story.
Mental habits are different from Decency & Propriety Habits in that they require direct training, not just a good example. Here’s the list of Mental Habits, one of which is in Charlotte’s Top Three (the three habits she wrote about…
