Posted by Cindy on April 13, 2010
Welcome to the Charlotte Mason Carnival! What joy it is to be back into the busy and boisterous season of spring again! Birds calling, frogs croaking, bees humming and children laughing are all sounds that have made me smile so far this spring.
My children and I would like to invite you along to see some of the sights as we take a woodland walk. Don't hesitate to stop here and there to take a rest in order to read all the lovely posts along the trail!
The sky is perfectly blue and the temperatures are in the mid-70's. It's the perfect day for a walk in the woods.
Redbuds! What a sight to behold as we enter the woodland.
Rest Stop #1 – CM Philosophy
Nancy from Sage Parnassus shares how a CM education often requires rethinking traditional schooling in The Stress of Education.
Keri from Sunny Scholars reminds us that Charlotte Mason intended for us to use our own Ideas and Thinking skills as parents.
Beth from Apples and Jammies reminds us slow down and be refreshed in Losing Focus.
Tiana from God Made, Home Grown talks about the joy of natural education vs. “Doing School”.
Beth from The Homeschool Post is thinking about next year and the fear of teaching older children in Homeschooling…(even) Highschool?
Flowers spread across the entire floor of the woodlands - violets, ground ivy, buttercups, nettle, and this - garlic mustard.
Mosses line several of the rocks and fallen trees, especially since we're nearing the creek.
Rest Stop #2 – Living Literature and Book Reviews
Samantha from To Be Busy at Home shares how she tames “antsy hands” in Keeping Hands Busy and Minds Engaged During Read-Alouds.
Amber from The Mommy Earth gives a very in-depth look into a living nature study book in Book Review: The Burgess Animal Book for Children.
I can’t remember if I already shared the about living listening literature, Jonathan Park CD’s, from The Curriculum Choice or not. Forgive me if I have.
Jill from History for Children shares about the Dear America series as living literature in The Oregon Trail.
Mama Squirrel from Dewey’s Treehouse shares a her opinions of Terrible Lizard, by Deborah Cadbury (book review).
The creek! It looks like recent high waters have left behind some flood debris.
Oops, sorry. Our nature walks involve lots of stops, not only to observe things, but to play as well.
Rest Stop #3 – Music and Art Study
Jimmie from Jimmie’s Collage shares how her Charlotte Mason homeschool is Beginning Hymn Study.
Barb from Harmony Art Mom gives you some ideas for Building on Picture Study: Part Two.
Alicia from La Famille shows her children’s latest art ventures in Artist Study – Henri Matisse.
Look up! Since the leaves aren't very big yet, we can see a hawk's nest in the huge sycamore tree.
It's a good thing we looked up! Take a look at those giant bracket mushrooms growing.
Rest Stop #5 – Living Math and Other Living Lessons
Makita from Academia Celestia inspires us to give our children living math lessons in Fractions :: Book Sharing Monday.
Julie from The Adventures of Bear gives you several living math ideas for little ones in Some Recent Math Activities.
Dawn from My 4 Sweetums celebrated the end of a study about the Middle Ages with the entire family in Medieval Party. She shares another fun family activity in Our Travels on the Silk Road.
How exciting! We've come upon a 10'x10' area of Virginia bluebells. Aren't they beautiful?
And look at the fossils embedded in this rock over here! They look like large pieces of bone to me, what about you?
Rest Stop #6 – Nature Study
Tiffany from Natural Family Living Blog gives a great overview of nature study in Natural Play for Teaching Science.
Jill from Children in the Midst takes you along on her spring nature walk in Beautiful Spring.
ChildBlessed from Kid Junkie shows you the blessings of a nature walk in Spring Has Come!
Kris from A Private Eye Nature teaches you The Basic Steps of how she uses the book The Private Eye for nature study.
Melissa from In the Sparrow’s Nest gives you a wealth of spring nature study ideas in April Nature Notables.
What's this? Oh, wow! We've never discovered signs of beavers before. What a wonderful find!
Sorry again. The kids want to finish the job the beaver started.
Timber!
What? You think you found the beaver's lodge?? Way cool!
Rest Stop #7 – More Nature Study
At Shining Dawn Books I explain the difference between two common nature study finds in Lichens vs. Mosses.
Dana from School For Us has been enjoying some exciting nature study while on vacation in Elephant Seal (Day 2).
Amy in Peru from Fisher Academy International takes you on a Biblical journey about The Why’s of Nature Study. And, in Nature Study on the Road she talks about how to take in nature during long trips.
Barb from Handbook of Nature Study and her children spent some time noting the weather in Our Spring Weather Observations.
Tammy from Adventures on Beck’s Bounty gives you a couple of indoor nature study ideas in Alternative Nature Study Ideas for When Your Family has the Plague.
Whew! It's been a long walk, but refreshing and beautiful. Looks like the trail is coming to an end. Thank you so much for walking with us!
Oh wait, the kids have spotted a dry creek bed. Shall we follow them? 
Thanks for enjoying our walk with us! Barb at Harmony Art Mom hosts next time. Be sure to submit your articles here.
Posted by Cindy on November 3, 2009
What a glorious time of year! In my part of the world, God’s creation is singing in brilliant colors and crisp notes. In honor of His magnificent show, I thought I’d center the theme around bits and pieces of Autumn Beauty. Enjoy the wonderful articles!
Nature Study
Julee from Abundant Harvest shares her family’s awesome nature study that came from an injured monarch in Nature Study – Butterfly.
Alicia from La Famille gives a great tutorial for making a dye from black walnut shells in Nuts About Dye!
Ritsumei from Baby Steps shares about her family’s recent trip to their local nature preserve in Critters and Moss.
Kris from At Home Science provides a nice list of living books and such for anyone planning to study rocks, soil or the earth in Geology Study Resources.
Barb at Handbook of Nature Study shares about one of her nature challenges in Outdoor Hour Challenge Autumn Series – Seasonal Weather.
Yours truly is sharing an article from Shining Dawn Books about Nature Study with a Toddler or Preschooler.
Art/Picture Study
Dana from Epi Kardia takes us on a how-to journey through picture study in Charlotte Mason Mondays – Picture Study.
I’d like to share a recent picture study resource review I wrote at The Curriculum Choice about Dover Art Cards as well as our latest artist study activities in The Thinker and Other Rodin Fun.
Living Literature
Keri from Sunny Scholars helps unmuddy the waters when it comes to finding good literature that’s also friendly to beginning readers in Readers.
Amber from The Mommy Earth shares how she and her children enjoyed a cozy reading time together in Book Review: Five Little Peppers.
Kris from Science of Relations provides a set of living literature for our reading enjoyment that focuses on history in Westward Expansion: Santa Fe Trail.
Jimmie from Jimmie’s Collage reminds us that even older children enjoy picture books, and she’s found several goodies in Picture Books for Middle School.
Science/History
Heather from Maple Hill Academy shares how she has implemented a family time line in Book of Years.
Barb from Harmony Art Mom shows us how she uses a traditional teaching text with CM flair in Apologia Physical Science with a CM Style.
Super Odds and Ends
Penny from Our Crazy Adventures in Autismland! gives us a glimpse into habit training in Bedtime Routine into Habit.
Richele from Under the Golden Apple Tree reminds us of the importance of leisure time in Masterly Inactivity.
Johnna from Living Charlotte Mason in California is the perfect ending to a cool weather carnival as she shares about her family’s adventure making Autumn Butternut Soup.
Thank you so much for visiting the Charlotte Mason Carnival today! Richele from Under the Golden Apple Tree will be hosting next time on November 17th. I hope you’ll consider submitting an article! Until next time, I hope your autumn days are spent in thankfulness to our Creator for His bounty!
Posted by Cindy on January 6, 2009
Snow Toward Evening
Suddenly the sky turned gray,
The day,
Which had been bitter and chill,
Grew soft and still.
Quietly
From some invisible blossoming tree
Millions of petals cool and white
Drifted and blew,
Lifted and flew,
Fell with the falling might.
~Melville Cane
Welcome to the first edition of the Charlotte Mason Carnival in 2009! You sure are in for a treat as there are over 30 posts to savor and enjoy. I know there are gems to be found in every CM Carnival, but this one is full of really great posts! I hope you’ll take the time to encourage each one of the writers with a kind comment. Enjoy!
Thinking About a New Start to the Year
Jimmie of One Child Policy Homeschool shares her new scheduling plans in Rotation Scheduling for Our Homeschool. She also shares an eye opening post about living math in Living Math is Not Quick or Neat.
Dana from School For Us gets us thinking about being passionate homeschoolers in Great Teachers.
Penny from Our Crazy Adventures in Autismland! reviews her learning goals for the new year in Task #64 Make 1 yr and 5 yr Homeschool Plans. She continues the planning as she shares Our New School Schedule! WooHoo! I am on a roll!!
Sandy from Falling Like Rain has been rethinking some things for the upcoming school year, too, and shared them in A Peek Inside My Planner.
Makita of Twinkling Stars Family School reviews last semester’s plans and makes goals to improve on a few things in Change of Direction – Mid Year Review.
Christin of Journey to a Gracious Woman has written a post about all the CM goals she has for the upcoming months in As We Resume School.
Jennefer of Smooth Stone Academy is just beginning her journey into CM style learning. She shares some of her thoughts in Learnings From Miss Mason.
Our CM Carnival organizer deserves a big thank you in her comment section! Jamie from Rose CottageIntentional Homeschooling shares some of her thoughts about school and life in .
Preschool
The Queen of Carrots from Introducing the World talks about Charlotte Mason’s ideas on reading books versus storytelling with preschoolers in Tell, Don’t Show.
I have a busy toddler in the house who can make school challenging (to say the least!) I’ve written a post called Taming the Toddler to remind myself of things to keep him meaningfully busy while the big kids are involved in school work.
Habit Training
Anne of French Kids Don’t Get Fat takes an interesting look at Charlotte Mason’s thoughts on reward systems as they relate to getting our children to eat well in How You Might Be Teaching Your Child to Hate the Very Foods You Most Want Him to Eat.
Teaching Ideas
Lapbooking has become a popular method of recording lessons learned. Lynn from Eclectic EducationChristmas Lapbook shares one of her son’s latest creations and links in .
Artist and Composer Study
Kris from Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers presents Simple Artist and Composer Studies at Homeschool Bliss.
Barb from Harmony Art Mom gets us thinking about a topic we may or may not have ever considered in Art Books-How to Deal with Nudity.
Patti from Charlotte Mason in America gives tips about artist study, including some nice links, in Art.
Melissa of Living Life Between the Trees had me chuckling as I read her post about artist study in Do Art (Not Crafts).
Amanda from Hearts and Trees continues her watercolor tutorial series in Watercolor Techniques #8 Watercolor Splatters.
Handicrafts
5intow from Delighting in His Richness gives a wonderful paper quilling tutorial in Giving and Quilling.
Living Learning
Kris of At Home Science has started a new blog called Education is the Science of Relations. She shares an interesting post about twaddle free viewing and listening in Living Media.
Molly of Counter-Culture School shares a post from her series about living literature in Whatever is Noble: Hero Stories.
Nature Study
Jonnia of Giggles, Wiggles and Wonder takes us on an impromptu nature study in Unofficial Outdoor Hour.
Julie of Homeschooling Ideas gets us thinking about displaying nature finds in Homeschool Nature Table.
Melissa from In the Sparrow’s Nest gives us some great winter activity ideas in Snowflake Craft and Project – Paper Snowflakes and Borax Snowflakes. She also encourages us to get outside and enjoy winter in Winter Nature Study.
Barb shares a post encouraging a winter nature study of birds in Watching Sparrows and Learning Their Habits on her nature blog Handbook of Nature Study.
Candace from His Mercy is New shares all sorts of snowy ideas in A Winter Nature Study. She also shows a wonderful idea for keeping nature study memories in A Nature Scrapbook.
Shannon from Song of My Heart gives several practical and fun ideas for studying nature this season in Winter Nature Fun!
Theresa of Grace Like Rain also gives several practical and fun ideas for nature study this season in Winter Nature Study.
Jacci (if you’ll remember as the founder of the Charlotte Mason Carnival) is back with a new blog called Understanding Charlotte. She shares a post about getting outside in winter in Winter Nature Walks (a.k.a. a mother self-talks through the PNEU motto to combat her SAD and get her grumpy self outside).
And believe it or not, there’s one more exciting thing to tell before this carnival wraps up…. Barb from Handbook of Nature Study has come up with a plan to help us all get ourselves moving with winter nature study. It’s called Winter Wednesday. Click on the button to see what it’s all about. I hope to be able to join Barb and many of you some weeks!
Ladies, thanks for starting off 2009 with such a great carnival full of practical Charlotte Mason ideas! I pray 2009 is a year full of wonderful memories with your children. Take time to snuggle with them during these peaceful winter days.
Nest of Pleasant Thoughts will be hosting the next CM Carnival in two weeks. Be sure to submit a post here.
Posted by Cindy on December 30, 2008
Alrighty ladies, Christmas is over and the New Year celebrations will soon be a thing of the past, too. That means almost all of you already have your wheels spinning about homeschool plans for the new year to come. I’m ready to include all your wonderful ideas in the next Charlotte Mason Carnival! (Um, that means I need you to write a wonderful post and submit it! LOL)
If you happen to have CM writer’s block, I’d like to pass on a few ideas. Why? Because these are things I’d like to read about!
- Some of the best living literature you’ve read with your children.
- Homeschooling CM style with toddlers in the house.
- How you organize your family’s chore time (habit training.)
- What you plan to do for winter nature study.
- What didn’t work last semester and what you’re doing to tweak it.
All your submissions need to be in to me by MONDAY, JAN 5 at 8:00pm EST (preferably much earlier!) Oh, and encourage others to submit when you see a good blog post! I’m looking forward to all sorts of entries flooding in over the next few days.
Now, on to other things. Like many of you, I haven’t posted much lately because of Christmas celebrations and family time. I thought I’d include a few pictures to show you some of what we’ve been up to the past couple of weeks.
Christmas, of course. I just loved this picture of the big kids digging under the tree while Eli had this look on his face. “What in the world are they so excited about?”
A really cold day (seven degrees) with our single paned door looking cold, but beautiful the next morning.
A really warm day (seventy degrees) where we were able to go on a comfortable winter nature walk.
And a trip to the Creation Museum with grandparents and cousins.
I could keep going on about three different Christmas celebrations, after Christmas shopping, working cattle, doctors visits and such, but I’m sure your story is similar to mine and you can fill in the blanks! Have a wonderful start to your New Year!
Posted by Cindy on August 19, 2008
Welcome to the Charlotte Mason Carnival Back To School Planning Bash!
This has turned out to be such an exciting and busy carnival that I feel like some sort of festive music should be playing - like you might hear on a merry-go-round. 
) I just know you’re going to enjoy post after post of planning and organizing wisdom. In fact, you may want to have a pad of paper and pencil ready to jot down all the wonderful ideas you’ll come across! Don’t get overwhelmed, though. One idea at a time……
Daily Schedules and Curriculum Choices
Erin from Delighting in His Richness tells us how her plans are coming along in Ready, Set…Still Working on the Set Part.
Kris from Musing Mom gives us a glimpse into her day in Our Schedule for Next Year.
Makita from Twinkling Stars Family School shows us her detailed plans in Our 2008/09 School Plans.
Kathy from Piney Woods Homeschool tells us how she plans practically using the Ambleside curriculum in Scheduling CM.
Barb from Harmony Art Mom gives us some planning ideas for older children in Our Plan for High School: Tapestry of Grace ala Charlotte Mason.
DeeDee from Doing Things Anglo/American Style shows us how she is easing into a CM lifestyle in Wanna Be Charlotte Mason Homeschooler.
Tiffany from Homeschool Nature Study lays out how she plans to begin implementing some serious CM plans this year in Charlotte Mason Back to School Planning Bash.
Amada from Manifold Musings of a Missionary Mom takes us through her planning in What to Teach?
Sandy from Falling Like Rain reminds us that not everyone is cheerfully planning and preparing for a new school year. She gives some great advice in Homeschool Fatigue.
Jimmie from One Child Policy Homeschool has been evaluating her homeschool in Some Homeschool Goal Setting.
Dawn from My4Sweetums has also been setting some goals for the year in Charlotte Mason Planning Bash.
Elizabeth from In the Heart of My Home shares her fall term plans in Sneak Preview – What’s New for the Fall Term at Serendipity.
Tammy from Adventures on Beck’s Bounty shows us how she plans her lessons in Planning at Beck’s Bounty.
Keri from Sunny shows us how she goes about planning in A New School Year.
Swylv from Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life answers several planning questions in Back to School Edition Submission.
Sonya from Simply Charlotte Mason shares how she makes time for larger projects in A Project Week Idea.
Sheri from On the Right Track talks about how she planned for fun learning in Summer Session Success.
Rebecca from Home Sweet Homeschool gives us a peek into how she plans using the Ambleside Online curriculum in Week-at-a-glance.
Schoolroom and Other Organizing Ideas
Candace from His Mercy is New gives us a couple of great ideas in Our Bulletin Board and Prayer Door.
Melissa from In the Sparrow’s Nest has organized all the toddler toys and big kid manipulatives in Busy Bookshelf.
Barb from Harmony Art Mom share a simple organizing trick in Need Some Inspiration: Try an Idea Portfolio. Also be sure to glean ideas for organizing an art study area in Our Van Gogh Wall. I couldn’t resist adding one more of Barb’s wonderful organizing tips in Keeping Your Art Supplies at the Ready.
Cindy from On Our Journey Westward (that’s me!) hopes to encourage you that the schoolroom can at least make you smile one time a year (before the children enter the room or area for the first time) in An Organized Schoolroom.
Leslie from Pockets of the Future shares an organizing tip about printer ink in A Key Homeschooling, Homesteading, Self-Sufficiency Item You Can Buy in Bulk.
Plans for Particular Subjects
Candace from His Mercy is New has a fun plan for Fine Arts Friday at her house this year. Along the same lines, be sure to check out her post about their Music Appreciation Time.
Kysha from Love’s School tells us about her new approach to spelling plans in My Rambles On Spelling.
Mama Squirrel from Dewey’s Treehouse shows us the fine arts side of her second grade plans in Crayon’s Grade Two: What’s Left? (Art, Music, This and That).
Mary Beth at Cheaper By the Half Dozen has reminded us that adding fine arts into our curriculum is not only important, but easy in Picture Study the Charlotte Mason Way. Be sure to see the second part of this idea at More Picture Study Tips.
Leila at Fredom Academy has started what sounds like a very fun group. You can read about it in a Charlotte Mason Co-op.
Lindafay from Higher Up and Further In offers her plans for CM-style testing in Year 4 Exams – Term 3.
Keri from Sunny shows us how she incorporated history in History with Story of the World.
DeeDee from Doing Things Anglo/American Style has a great idea for those wonderful read alouds in The End – Finally!
Andrea from Kids and Nature shows us how she plans to use the zoo in her homeschool this year in A New Approach to the Zoo.
Ritsumei from Baby Steps shares how she does nature study with preschoolers in Munchkin Nature Study.
Rachael from Homeschooling Kiwi Style takes us through a year’s worth of picture study in Monet and the Impressionist Picture Study Plan.
Lisa from House of Many Blessings shows how she spices up school in Artist Study and a Little Bit of Fun.
Amy from Growing Fruit…Part 2 shares how she includes literature along with math in Living Math Books.
Jenny from Chartwell Academy and Pook’s Hill Nursery has a fun idea for using postcards to enhance a wall timeline in Postcards from the Edge of Educational Tourism.
Melissa from In the Sparrow’s Nest gives a great overview of how and why to include nature study as part of your curriculum planning in Carving Out Time for Nature Walks.
Cindy from On Our Journey Westward (that’s me, again!) offers her plan for artist, composer and nature study in Setting Aside Time for the Good Stuff.
Thank you so much for visiting and/or participating! Remember, everyone enjoys positive comments (even me.) ) If you like someone’s ideas, let them know!
Thanks to Jimmie and Swylv for some of the pictures for the carnival!
Let’s continue with another super year of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival. Keep submitting those great posts! Our outstanding leader, Barb, will be hosting the next carnival on September 2nd!
