Project Ideas for Learning-at-Home

Here are some ideas for student projects. If you are moving from traditional schooling into HomeLearning, you may need some time to figure things out. These are things your students can do especially as you are getting your homeschool started and then as you continue to maintain. As you are working on getting things figured out, your children will need things to be doing – … Continue reading Project Ideas for Learning-at-Home

Play a Book-Farmer or Be One in Real Life

I know that you want a list of books -that is what I wanted. You have these little people (or big teens) looking at you. You are now homeschooling. What do you DO? They are waiting… what do I DO!? DO!!!!??? A book list. Hum…. with the focus of a CM Education on books, you’d think this post would be loooooong and full of suggestions … Continue reading Play a Book-Farmer or Be One in Real Life

Living Books are Delicious

These are the notes from my talk on Living Books. Here is an acronym to help you gauge what a Living Book is. A Living Book is DELICIOUS. D     Descriptive.A Living Book doesn’t present the topic as facts and information, but rather stirs the imagination by way of painting pictures for the reader. To paint a picture a Living Book will often use the senses … Continue reading Living Books are Delicious

Head Out! Field Trip Day!

Everybody loves a field trip! Exploring, seeing new things, meeting new people… Excursions are valuable ways to get children interacting with others. They open the world to them- the things going on, the possibilities. Charlotte talks about students trips to the British Museum several times in the V’s. This was part of the child’s self learning as well as adding to the relationship-building aspect of … Continue reading Head Out! Field Trip Day!

The Cure for ME

“For it is only in doing, that we learn to do; through service that we learn to serve;” – Volume 5 p.261 I don’t think you need too much imagination to realize that the world today is about promoting self. We have, in fact, a generation called ‘The ME Generation’. These were the Baby Boomers. And if you have a ‘ME generation’ becoming parents and … Continue reading The Cure for ME

Use what you Know, Use what you Have

What is something your family is good at? Something you all do together?What hobbies do you or your husband have? What talents do you have? What skills do each of you have? Do you:speak a foreign languagehave a trumpet in the closet that dad playedenjoy eating and cookingbike ridingknow and do car repairgardensewherb craftknithikingplaying and performing musichouse repairanimal carecampingcutting hairsing at churchpreserve foodwoodworking These are … Continue reading Use what you Know, Use what you Have

The Cure for Overwhelm

So many decisions to make. So many big decisions. Which curriculum? which way to teach it? which books? which activities? which classes? which, which, which. And then there are the how’s. How do I organize HomeLearning? How do I keep the baby happy? How do I teach math? How do I get them to stop arguing? How do I get them to get up in … Continue reading The Cure for Overwhelm

Reading Lessons Quotes

Selected Quotes from Charlotte Mason on Reading Lessons.Annotations in [  ] by Real Living Life. Read the complete chapters where Charlotte describes reading lessons in Volume 1 page 199-222. “Learning to read is hard work for most children, but it must be done, and we as parents should try to make the lessons as easy and pleasant as possible” – Home Education Volume 1 p.214 … Continue reading Reading Lessons Quotes

How to Do Reading Lessons

PHILOSOPHY.Sounds and sight recognition of words through observation and attention  is what Charlotte Mason’s reading lessons use. The lessons should not be drudgery, but interesting and engaging. Sounding out words as well as sight word recognition are part of her method. Lessons in CM are short in order to train attention. These lessons typically run 10-15 minutes. ——♦♦—— METHODS. 1. Using Books Basic Plan. CM does … Continue reading How to Do Reading Lessons

Poetry Study Quotes

Selected quotes from Charlotte Mason on Poetry Study.Annotations in [  ] by Real Living Life. “Poetry takes first rank as a means of intellectual culture. Goethe tells us that we ought to see a good picture, hear good music, and read some good poetry every day; and, certainly, a little poetry should form part of the evening lecture.” – Volume 5 p. 244 “The poets … Continue reading Poetry Study Quotes