What I’ve learned about Curriculum and Charlotte Mason’s Philosophies
If you’re like me, trying to embrace a Charlotte Mason education, I understand your journey. Or at least, large parts of your journey. And, please, trust me when I say this – If we are embracing a Charlotte Mason home education, our days with our children should be (mostly) – freeing, spiritual, joyous, authentic, peaceful, natural, and inspiring a love of learning in us all. If our days are not doing these things (at least most of the time), there is probably something wrong with our approach to implementing this beautiful philosophy into our homes. (And I’ve been there… more times than one…) When I first started trying to wrap…
Free downloads of Charlotte Mason Geography (Elementary Geography and Long’s Home Geography)
I wanted to share two files I created this past week. It took quite some time but I think it was worth it. These are PDF files of both Elementary Geography written by Charlotte Mason and Long’s Home Geography for Primary Grades. These are both wonderful, living geography books that we use in our home. They are also recommended by Ambleside. I am a book person (understatement of the year…). I really love to have nice books to work with. This is why I often print and bind my own books of curriculum and literature that is available for free online. Both these books are in the public domain.…
Five in a Row Volume 4 – The Raft
Rowing The Raft The Raft is up there with some of my favourite Five in a Row studies. It is an absolutely beautiful book with a heart-warming story that we all loved. The themes for this row fit perfectly for Summer nature study and tied in beautifully with our deep appreciation for the river near our home. I was in awe of the captivating art done by author, Jim LaMarche. Absolutely breath-taking! This was a 2-week row (unit study). Photographs from The Raft by Jim LaMarche Some of the topics we covered for our row of The Raft, included: Social Studies – geography and history of the…
Some of the Best Charlotte Mason-friendly Resources from our Year…
I am often asked about my favourite “Charlotte Mason” resources. I’ll start by quickly mentioning that this post doesn’t include the best *reading books* from our year. Living books are such a huge part of a Charlotte Mason education and listing all our favourite living and whole books from this year would be a ‘whole’ other post, or two, or three! This post is more about resources. To me, a resource is something like curriculum or a very specific type of book (like the Burgess books for Nature Study). So, hopefully that helps clarify that yes, we do indeed use hundreds of read-alouds in our home… but…
Keep it Simple Nature Studies – why not try an ABC Nature Walk?
In our family, we love spending time outside. As much as the children enjoying nature walks, however, at times they need some encouragement to get out and get moving. (Let’s face it, we’ve been visiting the river almost every day for years now!) Sometimes, you just need something a little extra to motivate everyone to enjoy a nice walk and some refreshing time outdoors. Something fun we tried this week was a simple ABC Nature Walk. I actually got this idea from Shining Dawn Books’ 100+ Easy and Simple Creative Nature Walks. (I love this resource, and all her Nature Study units by the way… so many GREAT ideas!) For…
A Review of Forest for the Trees from Homeschool Legacy
I was happy to review Forest for the Trees, a 4-week unit study from Homeschool Legacy. I’m sharing my review in combination with “Charlotte Mason Monday” because this unit study is such a lovely way to incorporate Nature Study into the home. Layout I found the layout for this study to be quite different from most unit studies I have tried. These are called Once-a-Week Unit Studies. Just as the title says, it is truly only one day of the week which is devoted completely to the unit study. The other four days of the week you carry on with your normal studies and add in a few suggested…
The Joy of the Charlotte Mason Homeschool ~ Nature Study
We’re walking through the woods on a damp Spring day. The Robins are back, singing us an April song of return. The vernal pool by the edge of the familiar path is back again and our children race to greet the swampy waters with a warm welcome. “They’ll be toads soon, Mama,” my eight-year-old daughter informs me. She’s beaming. And she knows this as fact because we’ve studied and enjoyed the tiny toads here for as long as she can remember. Our youngest son is sloshing through streams and puddles, curious of every new and living thing. Our eldest is gazing up at the birds overhead, commenting on…
A Detailed (and Whole-Hearted!) Review of Draw Write Now
Draw Write Now is not only an engaging copywork and printing program, but also blends joyful art, drawing, mapping, geography and history concepts easily and seamlessly. These books really present a ‘living education’ to children. I call this a ‘whole-hearted’ review because I can, with my whole heart, give a glowing report of our experience with these wonderful books. (I love it when that happens!) I am overjoyed to share with you my review of the Draw Write Now boxed set. The wonderful people at Draw Write Now were very kind to send it to me and I am so grateful! Program Overview Draw Write Now is written by…
Winter Nature Study (…and a Review of NaturExplorers – Coping with the Cold)
We have been thoroughly enjoying our study of “Coping with the Cold“, a nature study unit focusing on how animals survive the Winter. I wanted to write a quite detailed review because author Cindy West has truly created something very special in these unit studies. I’m excited to share them in hopes that other Moms and educators will find an incredible (and affordable!) tool for implementing more quality Nature Study into their homeschool. Friends, these Nature Study units are FANTASTIC! The NaturExplorers series is wonderfully in depth and so Charlotte Mason-friendly. Cindy has packed the pages full of incredible ideas and inspirations to jump start all kinds…
The Only Kids in the Creek
It was a pretty normal morning. Our three children and I were wading through a close-by stream, searching for little creatures. We were quite the sight – large rubber boots, nets, and nature jars in our hands. But we had success – a toad – croaking loudly. As we emerged from a treed space, I noticed a large group of children of all ages lined at the edge of the water. “Must be a homeschool group” was my first assumption – I’d never seen children here during a school day. Our children are always the only kids in the creek. Upon asking a young blond boy, I was pleasantly…
