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Balance: Core Values of Charlotte Mason
Think of education like a three-legged stool. You need all three legs to stay balanced.
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Blog
Nature Study in the Summer
Sonya chats with Karen Smith about some things to look for when you do nature study in the summer.
Favorite Living Books about South and Central America
Here are some of my favorite books for learning about the cultures of South and Central America.
Moving While Homeschooling
Trying to homeschool while moving into a new house? Laura has some great encouragement for you.
Respect: Core Values of Charlotte Mason
We often talk about "respect the child as a person." Here's what it looks like.
Homeschooling and Working from Home
Sonya and Amber O'Neal Johnston discuss how to balance homeschooling and working from home.
Favorite Living Books about the Middle East
Sonya shares her favorite living books about the Middle East.
3 Keys to Organizing Your Home School
Sonya and Laura take a look at three key areas that need to be organized to keep your home school functioning smoothly.
Authority and Obedience: Core Values of Charlotte Mason
Charlotte Mason had a very balanced view of authority and obedience. Let’s talk about it. We have begun a tour, looking at the core values that Charlotte Mason educators hold dear. These are the guiding principles upon which Charlotte built…
Learning As You Homeschool with Charlotte Mason
Sonya is joined by Amber O'Neal Johnston to talk about learning as you go while homeschooling the Charlotte Mason way.
Your Questions Answered: The Place of Fun in a Charlotte Mason Education
Is there a place for fun activities in a Charlotte Mason education?
Possibilities: Core Values of Charlotte Mason
The main message for today is “Don’t lose hope.” We have embarked on a tour of the ideas and values that form the core of a Charlotte Mason education. When we have these core values clearly embedded in our hearts…
10 Ways a Charlotte Mason Education Prepares a Student for a STEM Career
Let's look at ten ways a Charlotte Mason education can prepare a student for success in a STEM field.
STEM and a Charlotte Mason Education
Sonya discusses how the current STEM emphasis aligns, or doesn't align, with a Charlotte Mason education.
More Great Resources for Teaching Bible
Recently I shared my favorite living books for teaching Bible. Today I want to expand on that topic and share with you more great resources for teaching Bible. These are not living books in and of themselves, but they will…
Your Questions Answered: When School Seems Pointless
Sonya and Laura share some ideas for what to do when your child says that school is pointless.
Personhood: Core Values of Charlotte Mason
What do you see when you look at your child? Here’s what Charlotte Mason would like you to see. Charlotte Mason created a list of 20 core values, 20 key principles that formed the foundation on which her approach to…
Worldschooling
When we think about homeschooling, we often limit it to what we do within our four walls, or at least within our community. But what better way is there to learn about the people in the world and make relations…
Favorite Living Books for Teaching Bible
In previous posts I have shared my favorite books for teaching history, and many of you said you appreciate those book reviews and would like more recommendations covering other subjects as well. So today I’m sharing some great living books…
Your Questions Answered: Let’s Just Get Through This
Have you ever told your child, "Let's just get through this" schoolwork? Sonya and Laura discuss positive ways to approach that situation.
Core Values of Charlotte Mason: Introduction
A friend of mine made a statement recently that stopped me in my tracks. She was explaining how in the past she hadn’t felt confident deviating from a recommended book list for her Charlotte Mason home school, and she said…
What a Living Book Sounds Like
It seems like one of the hardest concepts to wrap your head around when you’re homeschooling with the Charlotte Mason Method is the concept of living ideas versus dry facts. Now, we give our children living ideas in several ways;…
Favorite Living History Books on Ancient Rome
Today we’re wrapping up our favorite history books series. We’ve covered five history time periods so far: Middle Ages and Renaissance, Early Modern, Modern Times, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Greece. Today we’ll share our top living books for studying Ancient…
Making Midyear Adjustments in Your Home School
Sonya and Laura talk about some adjustments they've made in their home schools and share encouragement for readjusting your plans.
God With Us
This time of year, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus and look toward the unknown future of the coming year, we can find comfort and confidence in the truth that Jesus is called Immanuel, God with us. Charlotte Mason…
Books as Windows
In the last post, we looked at how books can help our children form relations with themselves, and we talked about those books as mirrors. Today, we want to expand on another aspect of that and how books can help…
Books as Mirrors
The books that we give to our children help them form relations, those important relations that Charlotte Mason talked about so much, relating with God, relating with the universe around us, and relating with people, and that’s the aspect that…
Binoculars in Nature Study
One of the great things about doing Charlotte Mason nature study is that you don’t have to have a bunch of expensive equipment. Just grab your journal and go outside. But sometimes it can be helpful to expand our nature…
Favorite Living History Books on Ancient Greece
Great living history books for studying Ancient Greece the Charlotte Mason way.
Your Questions Answered: Your Home School Space
Are you looking for ways to create a more Charlotte Mason atmosphere in your home? Today we want to address a great question, and here to join me are Jenn Faas and Laura Pitney, my friends and coworkers. Sonya: Here’s…
How to Teach Foreign Language
Charlotte Mason used a wonderfully unique and effective method for teaching conversational foreign languages. It’s called a Series Approach, and I’m going to walk you through how to do it. What You Will Need You will need a series. A…
Help Your Child Learn to Observe More Closely
Has it ever happened to you that you ask your child, “What did you see outside today?” and that child says, “A bird,” and you try to get more information, but the child just says, “Well, I think it was…
Favorite Living History Books on Ancient Egypt
I really enjoy sharing my favorite living books with you. It’s like introducing delightful old friends that I know will help and support you along your homeschool journey. Today I will give you my top ten picks for studying Ancient…
Your Questions Answered: When You Want to Quit Homeschooling
Sonya and Laura share encouragement and ideas for dealing with homeschool burnout.
How to Teach Shakespeare
I’m going to venture to say that most of us did not grow up with Shakespeare as a regular part of our education. In my school years, I had only one Shakespeare play introduced to me and that was a…
Your Questions Answered: Questions about Dictation
Today we want to dive into a few questions that we’ve received from different home educating parents who have questions about Charlotte Mason’s method of dictation. If you’re not familiar with that wonderful method for teaching children spelling, then take…
Hints to Teachers
On my bookshelf I have a copy of a book from the early 1900s that was used in Charlotte Mason’s schools. Many books like this contain an introduction full of helpful comments, but the introduction to this book is so…
New Picture Study: Holbein
A new artist has been added to the award-winning Picture Study Portfolios collection: Hans Holbein. Each Holbein picture in the portfolio has an interesting story behind it that will encourage your child to look closely and discover more about the…
Your Questions Answered: Favorite School Supplies for a Charlotte Mason Home School
Today, we want to tackle a fun topic: school supplies for a Charlotte Mason education. We already talked about what we consider back-to-school essentials for the mom, and those are more the attitudes that set the atmosphere of your home.…
How to Teach Grammar
Today we want to discuss how Charlotte Mason taught English grammar. Grammar analyzes the system and the structure of a language. That’s a heavy concept that requires abstract thinking, so Charlotte did not start formal grammar lessons until the student…
Nature Study: Not Just a Checklist
Today we want to discuss a mind-set that could be robbing you of some of the richness involved in nature study the Charlotte Mason way. We want to talk about whether your mind-set is a checklist (“Yep, just do that.”)…
Charlotte Mason Notebooking
Some of you have asked about notebooking and whether that is a Charlotte Mason method. It’s a good question, and the answer all depends on what you’re thinking of when you think “notebooking.” For some people, notebooking is like scrapbooking.…
What to Do If Your Child Doesn’t Like a School Subject
What should you do when your child doesn't like a certain school subject? Sonya and Laura discuss ways to approach this in your home school.
How to Do a Book of Centuries
I want to introduce to you a wonderful tool that Charlotte Mason used to help her students see where everything fit in history. It’s called a Book of Centuries. What You Will Need A Book of Centuries is basically a…
Dealing with Our Past Homeschooling Mistakes
Imagine a scenario with me. You are teaching your child how to write. So, as Charlotte Mason detailed, you set before that child a model of the handwriting you want him to copy. Now let me ask you a question:…
3 Simple Ways to Enrich Your Homeschool Experience
Just five minutes, three times a week, can enrich your homeschool experience more than you might realize.
Your Questions Answered: Back-to-School Essentials for Mom
This time of year, it seems like no matter which store you go into, there are lists and lists of back-to-school supplies: these are the things the students will need to get into the school days ahead. But what about…
How to Do Dictation
Today we want to talk about how to do formal spelling lessons in a Charlotte Mason way: dictation. If you have been following the previous articles in this How To series, you will have seen how Charlotte included some spelling…
2 Ways to Schedule Your Homeschool Day
Today I’d like to walk through two different ways to schedule a school day. Both are viable options. Use the one that fits best during this season of life. Over the years—or even during different terms of a single year—you…
4 Ways to Schedule Your Homeschool Year
Here's a look at four possible homeschool year schedules. Choose the one that works for your family!