At the Texas Book Fair last weekend, we were able to help many homeschoolers who were trying to stay within their budgets. And when we would tell them about all the free resources on our Web site, it was fun to watch their eyes light up when they heard the word “free.” So we thought […]
We’ve spent much of this series on high school talking about academics. And it’s easy to focus on the books, the grades, and the transcript, especially in the high school years. But our goal is not just to graduate our children. Our goal is to equip them to be godly young men and women who […]
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 doubt many of those goals, if not all, will depend on forming some new habit […]
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 made right beneath the lamp. It looked like one of those silly straws that have […]
It’s January — a great time for looking back and looking ahead. We thought a fun way to look back would be to review our most popular posts for 2008. Perhaps you missed one of these topics or will find encouragement in reading them again. Either way, we hope you enjoy them. (more…)
We hope you’ve enjoyed the habit-training articles from the past few weeks. They are just a sampling of the thirteen articles and more than fifty Charlotte Mason quotes included in our new 2009 calendar journal, A Year of Smooth and Easy Days. (more…)
“Trust me, you’re not going to like it.” My little girl’s big brown eyes peered solemnly across the table. “But I want to try it.” “If you try it, you will have to sit there until you drink it all. Do you understand?” Her eyes lit up. “Yes.” “All right, you may try it, but […]
“I nag them and I nag them, but it does no good.” Most of us can testify to the truth of that statement. But I never understood why nagging doesn’t work until I started to study Charlotte’s habit-training principles. Now it makes sense. Let’s say that you’re trying to teach your child to hang up […]
I recently got a new printer for my computer, and as I was unpacking it I came upon a huge stack of user documents. My heart sank. The amount of information was a bit overwhelming. It was all helpful, to be sure; but the sheer volume of it all looked intimidating, and I didn’t know […]
Have you ever driven to the grocery store and, after you pulled into a parking place and shut off the car, you realized that you didn’t remember the drive there? It was almost as if you drove on auto-pilot. Whenever that happens to me, my next thought is, “Oh, I hope I didn’t run any […]
I can still picture the textured wall, the shiny smooth top of the spinet piano, and the white kitchen timer with its seemingly unmoving dial. I was supposed to be practicing my piano lesson, but I probably spent half of the allotted time listening to that timer’s ceaseless ticking. I knew I was supposed to […]
Last month we did a little deep cleaning around our house. Well, okay, not a little — a lot. At least it seemed like a lot. Cleaning can be hard work! By the time we had the furniture moved, the closet emptied, the light fixtures disassembled, and the curtain rods dismantled, I was tired. And […]
We know of several groups that are using Laying Down the Rails for their weekly or monthly book discussions this coming year. How exciting! I wish I could be a part of each group and hear all the comments. It is always so helpful to learn what other people are doing and how they are […]
This week’s Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival contains a lot of encouragement and ideas on habit training. Be sure to check it out over at Barb-Harmony Art Mom’s Handbook of Nature Study blog.
I love doing the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminars! It’s so much fun to meet other CMers and spend the day discussing how practical and do-able the Charlotte Mason method really is. So what is an All-Day CM Seminar like? Glad you asked. (more…)
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 about perhaps the most well-known of those assessment methods: narration. In its basic form, narration […]
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 habits workshop, Smooth and Easy Days, based on our book Laying Down the Rails on […]
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. (more…)
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 mental image. Today let’s consider how discipline brings freedom! (more…)
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. (more…)
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