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Is My Child Learning Enough?
If you're feeling like your child is behind or not learning enough, take a moment to be encouraged.
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How to Do Picture Study
Picture study is one of the easiest things to add to your schoolwork and one of the most enriching. Let’s walk through how to do it. What You Will Need You will need to select an artist and have a…
Your Questions Answered: Common CM Homeschool Mistakes
Recently, Sonya Shafer and Laura Pitney and Karen Smith sat down to discuss this question: What are one or two (or three, four, whichever we get to) common homeschool mistakes that get in the way of success with the Charlotte…
Favorite Modern Times History Books for the Family
I must admit that I’m somewhat partial to old books. But when you’re teaching modern history, you have to find some new favorites. And I’m happy to tell you about some real gems that I’ve found and can heartily recommend…
Winter Nature Study
Sonya is joined by Karen Smith to talk about how to do nature study when it's cold outside.
How to Do Narration
Let’s walk through a foundational method used in many Charlotte Mason-style lessons: narration. You will be using this method for history, geography, Bible, science, and other subjects, so let’s make sure you understand it and feel confident using it. What…
Homeschooling Overseas with the Charlotte Mason Method
It seems like more and more people are traveling and expanding their horizons around the world. We often get asked for advice and practical tips from families who are planning to live and homeschool overseas. The Charlotte Mason Method can…
Our Wills and God’s Will
We’ve spent several blog posts talking about the way of the will and how to strengthen the will so it will be able to choose to do what is right, even when it’s hard. I’ve really enjoyed these weeks of…
Favorite Early Modern History Books for Grades 10–12
I remember my high school history books. They were nothing like these beauties! My history textbooks were full of summaries and facts. These are full of ideas and people and fascinating narratives that make the events of the past come…
Habit Training Yourself — New Workshop Video
I forget which convention it was that started it all. I had just finished presenting the workshop on Laying Down the Rails, all about instilling good habits in your child’s life. As I was taking off the lapel mic and…
I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Wish I Did
This morning my alarm went off as scheduled. I squinted my eyes part-way open and took in the dark room and the cold rain pattering against the window. It was a dreary day, but it was warm and cozy under…
Your Questions Answered: Christmas Season Edition
A well-rounded Charlotte Mason education involves living ideas from great books, the discipline of good habits, and the atmosphere of our homes. We’d like to focus on that third aspect today. My friend and co-worker Laura Pitney is here to…
A Chat with Pam Barnhill
My friend Pam Barnhill stopped by today and she sat down to have a little chat with us. Some of you might know her from her popular podcast, Homeschool Solutions. Sonya: Pam, thanks so much for joining us today. Pam:…
Favorite Early Modern Books for Grades 7–9
I love being surrounded by great books! My father recently made me two more bookcases, so I’ve been happily reshuffling and reorganizing my collection of history and literature books. That’s one of my favorite tasks: handling and organizing my books.…
3 Ways to Develop Willpower
Right off the bat, some of you may be thinking, “Strengthen my child’s will? I don’t need to strengthen it. He’s a strong-willed child already!” And that may be the case, but don’t jump to any conclusions. You might want…
Your Questions Answered: Fitting in the Good Stuff
My friend and co-worker Laura Pitney is joining me to talk about all of those wonderful enrichment subjects. Here’s the question to discuss today: “There are so many enriching subjects in a Charlotte Mason approach: picture study, music study, nature…
How to Choose and Use Field Guides
A good field guide can be a very helpful tool when you’re doing nature walks or nature study. Let’s talk about what to look for when you’re choosing them and how to use them. Joining me today is my longtime…
Favorite Early Modern Books for Grades 4–6
The Early Modern time period includes many fascinating people and events. And what better way to study them than through living books—books that make them come alive in your child’s mind; books that touch their emotions and fire their imaginations;…
Is Your Child Strong-Willed or Weak-Willed?
A few weeks ago I did a post on the Way of the Will as a little refresher course on how Charlotte Mason explained the will and how it works. Many of you responded with requests for more on that…
Your Questions Answered: Favorite CM Moments
Today my friend and co-worker Laura Pitney is with me to share some of our favorite moments using the Charlotte Mason method. Sonya: I’m thinking back on it, now that I’ve graduated three out of my four kids, and I…
How to Read History
When I was a little girl, I would go visit my grandparents once or twice a year. I quickly figured out that things at my grandparents’ house were different from my own house. They had different-looking furniture; they watched different…
Favorite Early Modern Books for Grades 1–3
Today I’d like to share some of my favorite living books for early elementary students, those in grades 1–3, covering history during the years of 1550–1850 or so. I’m going to share titles for both American history and world history…
Nature Walk or Nature Study?
In a Charlotte Mason Homeschool, we know we should do nature study once a week, or is that a nature walk once a week? What’s the difference, anyway? Let’s figure this out. Joining me today is my longtime friend and…
Your Questions Answered: Not Repeating Yourself
Today I’m joined by my friend and co-worker, Laura Pitney, to do another installment of Your Questions Answered. The question for today is quite interesting: “You say not to repeat yourself, but I’m wondering how you teach this? I have…
The Way of the Will
I was recently talking with a group of parents, and in the course of our time together, I mentioned how important it is to make sure our young adults know how the will works. Well, all of the parents in…
Favorite Early Modern Books for the Whole Family
Great living books for the whole family to enjoy on the Early Modern time period.
Your Questions Answered: Audiobooks in a Charlotte Mason Home School
My friend and coworker, Laura Pitney is with me today for another episode of Your Questions Answered. Today’s question is What is the place of audiobooks in a Charlotte Mason home school? Laura: That is a great question for sure.…
Using Subject Cards to Plan Your Homeschool Schedule
Planning for your home school can sometimes seem overwhelming. But let me encourage you that the more you do it, the easier it gets. And today I want to share with you a quick and simple trick I use when…
5 Things to Remember When Planning Your Charlotte Mason Homeschool
It’s that time of year again — the season when many of us get the itch to plan our next school year. Whether you’re just starting out or have been doing this for decades, here are five friendly reminders—just five…
Your Questions Answered: Narration with Multiple Children
Today my friend and coworker, Laura Pitney, is with me to discuss a question that we received about narration: “With more than one child in the phase of doing oral narration, how do I have them each do a narration…
5 Steps to Planning Your Charlotte Mason Homeschool
DIY—Do It Yourself. For some of you, those initials generate great excitement! Images of potential projects arise in your imagination and you can hardly wait to dive into a new one. Others of you get tired just looking at those…
Using the 6-Year History Cycle
In this post I want to show you a little technique that I use to help me think through, adjust, and fine tune our history cycle to fit different family situations. We’re going to answer this question: Why do you…
Working On Best Effort During the Summer
We talked last time about how the summer months can be a great time to give focused effort in habit-training, even if you’re taking that time off from schoolwork. Especially if you’re taking that time off from schoolwork! When you…
Working On Attention During the Summer
When I was a girl, I took piano lessons. I would practice diligently during the school year, but my teacher always gave her students the summer off. So I got used to not practicing during the summer months. Later, in…
Your Questions Answered: Homeschooling with Preschoolers in the Mix
One of the biggest challenges a homeschool mom faces is trying to get schoolwork done with preschoolers in the mix. My friends Jenn Faas and Laura Pitney are here to help me discuss this today. Sonya: Between all of us,…
Two New Music Studies Now Available
Charlotte Mason believed that music is a necessary part of education. And not just haphazard music; she encouraged us to “Let the young people hear good music as often as possible, and that under instruction” (Formation of Character, p. 235).…
Top 10 (or 20) Picture Books for Preschoolers
Today I’m sharing some of my absolute favorite picture books for 3 to 5 year olds. These are picture books that you will want to read to your child again and again. These are books that, if your preschooler grabs…
How to Choose a Good Picture Book
Do a quick search on Amazon for picture books, and you are suddenly faced with more than 60,000 titles. Think of it: 60,000 picture books to choose from. That’s a lot of books! In fact, if you could stack all…
New Preschool Resource: Our Preschool Life
I talk to mamas all over the country who are feeling pressure with their preschoolers. They’re being pressured to push academics, to focus on reading and writing and math facts with their three-, four-, and five-year-olds. Perhaps you’re the mother…
Your Questions Answered: Preschool Activities
The biggest job that a preschool child has is to explore his surroundings and make sense of the world around him. As he uses his five senses, he’s forming crucial connections in his brain. And those connections will help him…
Preschool Priorities
Young children spend the first five or six years of their lives busily making sense out of life around them. Their brains are on overdrive: observing, categorizing, comparing, discriminating, problem solving, experimenting, testing, assimilating. For example, let’s say you hand…
Favorite Middle Ages and Renaissance Books for the Whole Family
We’ve been sharing our favorite books for studying the Middle Ages and Renaissance, telling a little about each title and breaking it down by age range. So far we’ve covered grades 1–3, grades 4–6, grades 7–9, and grades 10–12. What’s…
Let Us Not Grow Weary
I just spent a weekend at a conference with some wonderful homeschooling mamas: some who are new to homeschooling and some who are veterans. As I was chatting with one mama who is just in the midst of her first…
What Charlotte Mason Exams Week Looks Like
Here's how to make exam week a time to celebrate your student's growth.
What Exam Week Sounds Like in a Charlotte Mason Home School
What do you mean "Charlotte Mason didn't do tests?" She did whole weeks of exams!
Favorite Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation Books for Grades 10–12
I’ve been sharing some of my top picks for Middle Ages and Renaissance books for different age groups. Today I want to talk about my favorite books for grades 10 through 12. Now, remember, these are not the typical high…
The Heart of Education
As the mother of a special needs child, I appreciate those who are able to look past the differences and see the similarities. Yes, some children have special needs, but all children have many needs that are the same no…
Your Questions Answered: Children Who Won’t Sit Still
My friend and co-worker, Laura Pitney, is joining me again today. We want to discuss another great question that you have asked: “What about little boys and girls who can’t or won’t sit still? What do you do then?” We…
5 Life Habits Built Into a Charlotte Mason Education
We all want to instill good habits in our children, from the time they are toddlers through the time they move out to start their own households. We often think of habit training as something we do on the side.…
Favorite Middle Ages and Renaissance Books for Grades 7–9
There are so many great books set in the Middle Ages and Renaissance! I’ve been sharing some of my favorites for the different age groups, and today I want to share my top picks for grades 7 through 9. These…