A few years ago, my son really didn’t want to go to bed and launched into full lights-out-postponement tactics, grasping at any thread of conversation that would keep me talking. So when I mentioned that he needed sleep so that we could do school tomorrow, he quickly asked, ‘Why?’ ‘Because it’s my responsibility to ensure…
Rooting out weeds from a garden has two parts: pulling up the weeds that are growing on one hand and establishing the plants that you do want on the other. If we only ever pull at the weeds, we’ll be at it forever. Once that lettuce or those pumpkins or the dahlias get going, however,…
Over the past few weeks we’ve explored Charlotte Mason’s educational tool of discipline from various angles: the limits of this tool, how habits work on our hearts, and even how to approach building good habits. After this week I’ll depart from habits for a while, but not until we take a look at how habits…
I have a bit of a fascination with Charlotte Mason’s Twenty Principles (see here). It seems like such a good idea: twenty short-ish statements, the perfect introduction to a philosophy of education. Grasp these ideas and off you go! You can educate the Charlotte Mason way! Except that reading the twenty principles often leave you…
What does it mean that children are born persons? This is Charlotte Mason’s first principle and one of the most important. If we don’t grasp her meaning, we will struggle to make sense of the rest of her ideas and apply them well in our homes. It is deceptively simple. We all have an intuitive…
Last month I had a chance to chat with Cherelle German about spreading the feast Charlotte-Mason-style in my homeschool. I know it’s very typical to say that it was a blast and a super fun conversation, but I genuinely enjoyed our conversation and it was a joy to spend some time with her. Cherelle has…
What I desire to set before the reader is a method of education based upon natural law. Charlotte Mason, Home Education There is something about Charlotte Mason’s ideas that is extremely intuitive. I don’t think it’s just me, either. Plenty of people find that her principles speak to something that they’ve known, but couldn’t articulate….
I concluded in the last post that as moms, we need to rise to the challenge of continuing our own education. Mother culture, loosely defined, is time we spend seeking out and taking in those ideas, usually through reading living books. But like most living things, our minds need a direction to grow in. If…
Raise your hand if you wish your kids would listen better. And by listen, you mean follow instructions and do what you ask. The first time. If your hand is in the air, then mine is waving right next to yours. Sit in our house long enough and you will see plenty of examples of…
Sometimes you leave someone else’s house and you know that they have something special. They’ve created a home where a visitor is never an inconvenience, where the mess your kids make is never any trouble, where you feel welcome, comfortable, and able to let down your guard. You sense the hospitality and friendship. It is…