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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…
Last week we explained that the habits Charlotte mentioned can be outlined in basically five broad categories: mental, moral, decency and propriety, physical, and religious. This week, let’s take a look at Habits of Decency and Propriety. How’s that title…
I’ve made hundreds of decisions already today, and so have you. You just don’t remember them because they were habits. They didn’t require a lot of mental effort and stress. For example,Should I get up? . . . Now? .…
As I’ve been studying Charlotte’s writings these past few months (especially her thoughts on habits — but more about that later), I was delighted to find some specific advice she gave about the Christmas holidays.
Laws are not exactly the most thrilling topic for reading or discussing — not, that is, until a law affects you personally. Then all of a sudden, that law becomes quite important! You either marvel at the fairness and common…
When I (Sonya) was a young mom with my first baby, the idea of teaching my child to read ranked right up there on the “Scary Meter” with singing a solo and snake pits. Sure, I could teach her the…
Our kids like to check out the Bonus Features on any DVDs we watch as a family, and we like it too. You never know what interesting tidbits you might find! We wanted to let all of you know that…
“I have a question for you,” says one mother. “The more I read and hear about the Charlotte Mason approach, the more I want to use it with my children. But we’ve been using a different approach for several years.…
Our students need to know what they believe and why. So do we adults, for that matter. We’re happy to announce that Discovering Doctrine: A Personal Bible Study is now available.
A lot of Charlotte Mason book discussions, teas, and support group meetings are starting up in full swing again. We would love to help you get the word out about your events and let other CMers in your area know…
Ever been to one of those CM get-togethers where someone recommends a book and immediately everybody begins firing questions: “What was that title again?” “Who’s the author?” “Where can I get it?” We certainly have. Many times. Usually, the person…
A Bible study done Charlotte Mason style — that was my (Sonya’s) goal. Most Bible studies I’ve seen are the typical read-a-verse-fill-in-the-blank-then-read-the-author’s-thoughts style. Now, if we’re trying to avoid that type of approach for other subjects, why would we settle…
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…
“Does anyone know of a living book about beavers?” “Could someone recommend a book for my eighth grader on Johannes Kepler?” “I’m looking for good biographies of composers that would be written for younger children around first or second grade.”…
Just a quick note to let you know that Sonya will be presenting two workshops at the MTHEA’s Workshop Weekend on August 11 and 12 in Madison, Tennessee. She’ll be giving an overview workshop: “Charlotte Mason and Her Method.” And…
What do you get when you put together 1 school year, 3 students in first through sixth grades, 50 Bible passages, 15 simple science experiments, 18 living books, and 20 nature study ideas? 106 Days of Creation Studies!
Someone recently asked if she could come to my (Sonya’s) house and be a fly on the wall for a day or two. While I certainly don’t mind having company, what this mom really wanted was help figuring out how…
A few years ago, when my (Sonya’s) oldest two were in the 8-12 year old range, I got this idea for a fun, living way to review math skills: We pretended that each child was the owner of a store.…
We know things have been quiet from us for a while and that’s because we’ve been working really hard behind the scenes.
Sorry you haven’t heard from us lately. Some of you may already know that Sonya had an unexpected trip to the hospital and emergency surgery. Needless to say, that turn of events required some unexpected down time. Thanks for your…
During a recent interview, I (Sonya) was asked, “If someone wanted to homeschool, how would they begin?” I thought, “Good question! How did I begin those many years ago?” A little later, the interviewer asked, “Why did you choose to…
