Well Worth the Effort

Some days it requires a Herculean effort to do homeschooling. Let’s be honest. Homeschool moms carry a large load, and at times we just don’t feel like we have the gumption to do another math lesson or supervise another science experiment or even listen to another narration (let alone cook another meal!). Sometimes we feel like we’re simply plodding along day after day . . . left, right, left, right.

If you feel like you’re plodding, it may be time to lift your eyes from the pavement and look toward the finish line. Maybe you can’t see it from where you stand, but listen as Charlotte Mason reminds you of the benefits of using her methods and the results that will be there in the end (taken from Volume 6, page 28).

• The Charlotte Mason Method fits all ages.
• It satisfies brilliant children.
• It discovers intelligence in children who struggle with learning challenges or disabilities. (Charlotte used the term of her day, “dull.”)
• It secures attention, interest, concentration, without effort on the part of the teacher or those being taught.
• Children so taught express themselves in forcible and fluent English.
• Children use a copious vocabulary.
• Children grow with steady confidence in a supportive and secure atmosphere. (Charlotte used the term of her day, “nervous stability.”)
• Children have plenty of good material to keep their minds and lives occupied with wholesome ideas. (Charlotte called this “chastity in thought and life.”)
• Children show delight in books.
• Children manifest a genuine love of knowledge.
• Teachers/parents are relieved from much of the labor of correcting papers.
• Parents become interested in the schoolwork.
• Parents find their children “delightful companions, because they have large interests and worthy thoughts” (elaborating from a similar comment on page 267).
• Children do exceptionally well at any school.
• Children grow up with such principles and pursuits as make for happy and useful citizenship (mentioned in the Preface).

This is the harvest you will reap if you don’t grow weary in well-doing.

You’re not just reading another chapter; you’re cultivating your child’s growing delight in books.

You’re not just listening to another narration; you’re witnessing your child’s progressing love for knowledge.

You’re not just reviewing the same math concepts again; you’re providing a supportive atmosphere in which your child can grow with steady confidence at her own pace.

You’re not just doing another picture study; you’re gifting your child with more noble material to safeguard his mind and heart.

You’re not just schooling your children; you’re shaping delightful companions who have large interests and worthy thoughts.

Yes, the results are well worth the day-to-day effort. Keep going, my friend. You are doing a great work!