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 December 17, 2008
Yep, Melissa was right from my last post, the cows were definitely not supposed to be in the yard. But, this much snow in December is pretty unusual in Central KY, too.
My children seem to think all the snow is wonderful! After a busy day of snowmen and sledding, they spent hours cutting out and hanging snowflakes all over their bedrooms. It’s festive for sure! (I’m keeping my fingers crossed that all that tape doesn’t pull the paint from the ceiling! Oh well, they’re only kids once.)
Speaking of snow, I’m hosting a wintry edition of the Charlotte Mason Carnival on January 6th. I know it’s tough to think about CM style schooling right now with everyone taking a much deserved Christmas break. After your Christmas celebrations are over, though, and you take a few minutes to think about your upcoming year, I’d appreciate you passing along some of your wonderful CM thoughts my way so I can add them to the carnival.
I’ve noticed the carnival has been slow lately. I hope we can kick off 2009 with a chunky edition. I’ll need your help, though. Since my blog change-over happened pretty quickly, I didn’t have time to warn people that my old RSS Feed would no longer work. I think I’ve lost some of my readers because of it. Will you help spread the word about the carnival? Don’t worry, I’ll remind you again as the date approaches.
You can submit articles here.
Merry Christmas!
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!
Posted by Cindy on August 5, 2008
Whether you’ve already started school, you never stopped or school is just around the corner, planning is always in season. And what better way to kick off a new year of the Charlotte Mason Carnival than a Back To School Planning Bash?
On August 19th, Our Journey Westward will host this exciting CM inspired event (the brilliant idea from our fearless leader, Barb!) It’s time NOW to send in your best planning or organizing post! Topics could include things like:
- How you decide what to teach
- How you set up your year
- How you keep plans, keep records, or store work
- How you organize your schoolroom, supplies, literature books
- Where you go for CM planning inspiration
- How detailed you plan for a particular subject or how far in advance you plan
- What your plans are for one of (or all) your subjects
- A new project you’ve completed to compliment CM style education
Give us a glimpse into your mind, your plan book, your schoolroom or anything else that will supply us with wonderful ideas for our Charlotte Mason inspired homeschools.
Spread the word and let’s make this a huge carnival full of planning and organizing wisdom! Click on the bash button above if you’d like to copy and paste it into your own blog. Copy and paste this message on your blog, too, if you like.
Oh, and if you would like to send in a picture for Cindy to include in the carnival as visual inspiration (an ordered shelf of supplies, an open plan book, a stack of great literature….), please do! Send it to cindykwest@hotmail.com. But hurry! She doesn’t want all the lovely pictures and outstanding blog posts to come in at the last minute!
Thanks, Amanda, for the very cool bash button!
Posted by Cindy on February 5, 2008
Welcome to the 10th Edition of The Charlotte Mason Carnival!!
The “Love”liness Edition
When thinking about educating my children the Charlotte Mason way, the word “loveliness” describes the pictures in my mind. Children snuggled up with mom, literature that paints vivid pictures, lessons that inspire my children and a general sweetness that surrounds the day. Of course, this picture is the “ideal” picture, not always the one that is painted! But, we try. And many days ARE just that – lovely. Sweet. Precious. Calm. Easy. Natural. Loving. So, in honor of those days and the upcoming Valentine’s Day, the theme of this carnival is Loveliness. Enjoy!
Dwelling in the Land takes us right to the heart of what we should strive for in our homes in Hymn-spiration. She also shares a day of fun spawning from living literature in Wigwams.
Pockets of the Future tells about a new approach she’s found to teaching piano in Simply Music is a Fun and Very Effective “Living Music” Approach to Playing the Piano.
Interested in a New Composer Study? Peakmore Academy gives us many ideas for studying Duke Ellington.
Freedom Academy reminds us of the importance of setting a good example in Mother Culture – Mom’s Nature Journal.
The Heart of Harmony takes us in to nature even in the midst of cold weather in The Pleasures of Winter. On her nature study blog Handbook of Nature Study, join her on a wintry trip in Snowshoe Adventure: Tahoe Snowshoes Hare.
Science, anyone? Where the Kudzu Grows shares a bit about nature study and a bit about science, or should I say a lot about both, in Homeschooling: Science and Nature Study…Part 5.
Treasuring the Moments encourages us to get outside with our little ones in Out of Doors Studies for Children Under Six.
Just can’t stand the cold? Hearts and Trees has a wonderful indoor nature study alternative for us in Indoor Nature Study Idea- Tabletop Garden.
My Nature Study also has an idea for warm winter nature study in Bird Watching.
Praiseworthy Things makes nature study seem so easy and inviting in Love of Nature.
Nature Notes From Above gives a super tutorial in Nature Activity – Build Your Own Fruit Bowl Bird Feeder.
Wildflower Morning reminds us of the importance of nature and encourages us to bring the camera in Pass the Wonder.
Check out One Child Policy Homeschool’s icy nature adventures in Winter Ice Play. She also gives a book recommendation in Last Child in the Woods Book Review.
Don’t let the scientific method scare you. Lifestyle Homeschool walks us through easily incorporating the scientific method into our day in The Scientific Method: Conversations With Science.
Take a peek into Country Cottage’s learning in Term 2 Books.
Piney Woods Homeschool explains how to incorporate CM style education with little ones in Year 0 Introduction.
I’ve shared a glimpse into our special math days in Living Math – Winter Fun.
Dewey’s Treehouse gives her ideas on CM math in Multiplication Without Vexation (CM and Math).
Distinctly Different reminds us to smile as we think back on the lovely literature we’ve read with our children in Of Friends and Fellows.
May the Lord Find Us Faithful has written a very honest post about easing into Charlotte Mason methods in Dictation.
School For Us shows us how she is introducing dictation in her homeschool in Beginning Dictation. She also askes the question “How am I doing?” in Intellectual Food.
CM, Children and Lots of Grace shares an excellent tip for memorization in A Helpful Technique for Memory Work.
Adventures On Beck’s Bounty has made plans to be sure her children learn wonderful handicraft skills in On Handicrafts (A Charlotte Mason Style Resolution).
Morningstar Academy Art is sharing Week Four: Van Gogh Study, but you’ll want to be sure to check out the previous weeks, too!
Education is an Atmoshpere, a Discipline, a Life shares her thoughts on what this phrase means to her in Meaning Behind ths Weblog’s Title.
Some Encouragement is exactly what Teacher Britt gives us in this thoughtful article.
La Sopa Smith gives a wonderful account of CM Education working in her homeschool in Let the Games Come to You.
Sunny Homeschool encourages us to keep our CM focus in An Aim and Direction.
The House at My Corner tells us her thoughts in Why I Like Charlotte Mason.
(If you submitted an article and don’t see it here, would you please let me know? A few people had a problem submitting their articles and I want to be able to pass any submission problems on to Barb before the next carnival. Thanks!)
If you would like to visit past editions of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival or submit an article for the next carnival, please visit this page.
The “lovely” clipart comes from The Stock Solution’s Vintage Valentine’s Art Collection.
