Charlotte Mason

Charlotte Mason homeschooling encompasses everything that is wonderful about homeschooling.  Gentle lessons in a literature-rich environment, short lessons that focus on real-life with plenty of opportunity to explore the world indoors and out.  And, these are just a few of the reasons I love this style of homeschooling!  In these articles, my goal is to share the wonder, joy and creativity of the Charlotte Mason style, while giving you plenty of ideas and practical advice for implementing it in your own home.  Enjoy!

Fine Arts Tuesday Week 2

Tuesdays are such a sweet treat!  Nature study, artist study, art projects, composer study, tea time and an afternoon club are making for full and fun days. Last week’s nature study turned out to be working cattle in the barn with dad.  I had planned on a nice walk to observe trees and their lines, but…

Habit Training – Chores

I found the following quote on the Formation of a Habit page at www.charlottemason.com. “Charlotte Mason taught us that when you find yourself always telling (your children) to do the same thing, you have not trained them in the habits you wish they would perform.” Boy, do I find this to be true.  And before I give…

Nourishing "Mother Culture"

Ha!  I actually think it’s ironic that the theme for the newest edition of the CM Carnival is “Mother Culture” – otherwise known as taking care of momma.  You see, I’m not doing a very good job of that right now.  Maybe it’s having a toddler who isn’t a good sleeper day or night.  Maybe it’s too many…

Living Math – Winter Fun

After the last couple of living math posts, I promised to share some of our non-textbook lessons.  Here are some of the fun things we’ve been doing/have planned to do this winter on our living math days.  My hope is to encourage you that…. 1.) Living math really is thoughtful, meaningful math. 2.) Living math isn’t hard to…

Living math blog post image with orange, green, red, and blue blocks

Living Math

(This post contains affiliate links and links to my business website, Shining Dawn Books.) I hated math when I wad a kid. Hated it.  It didn’t make much sense to me, I had a hard time memorizing facts, and my teacher’s didn’t spend much time helping me to understand. I remember my poor dad spending…

Artist Study – Durer

I love Discovering Great Artists!  I’ve used it in our home and in a co-op art class.  This lesson came from the book. Albrecht Durer did paintings, watercolors, drawing and woodcuts.  We tried our hand at woodblock printing, which was one of Durer’s specialties.  You take wood blocks and hammer metal objects into the wood to make impressions. …

Keepers At Home

What a pleasure this group has been!  This summer, a few moms of girls ages 8-12 got together to organize a Keepers At Home group.  We meet twice a month and use the Keepers At Home Handbook as a loose guide when planning what to teach the girls.  The moms take turns teaching classes – choosing what we feel…