More Charlotte Mason

Today I had a pool get together. I invited several families from our home school group. It was a beautiful hot day, just perfect for swimming. We had 14 boys and my daughter helped to keep an eye on the children. They had a great time.

But the highlight for me was finding out that one of the other homeschooling moms is a CM home educator. She also just recently moved into the area and had been attending a local CM group that was discussing the "Charlotte Mason Companion" by Karen Andreola. So we started talking and getting to know each other better and lo and behold we have similar goals for our home schools. Another mom was sharing that she wanted to find a more enjoyable and fun way to educate her boys and we talked to her a little bit about Charlotte Mason. I lent her my "Companion" and a couple of other books that should help her get started in learning what Miss Mason taught and how she was so far ahead of her time and even our time. Thank you Charlotte!

Well we are meeting again next week and plan on getting together during the school year to learn picture study and a composer together. We will also probably go on some nature walks and share our ups and downs this school year. This was an answer to prayer for me, because I was really wanting to have some good homeschool support and people that share the same interest in this philosophy of education, and it looks like I finally found it!

I purchased some items from "History Portfolios" http://www.homeschooljourney.com/ I ordered maps, and special notebooks for our Ancient History study. I will also be using Susan Bauer's "The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child" as a read aloud with my 8 and 6 year olds. My 14 year old will be reading "Augustus Ceasar's World" by Genevieve Foster, in addition to some other materials that will be suggested in the "History Portfolios"

Thanks for sharing my journey.

Getting Started

I started buying some new products for our homeschool next year. I have many beginner readers and classic books for the children to read. But I wanted to implement Latin so I purchased Latina Christiana 1. It works best with grades 3 and up but I am sure my five year old will learn a little with us. We will also be using Learnables for Spanish 1.

I found a program for math called Teaching Textbooks that I just know will be helpful in teaching the upper grade math. Algebra 1 is what my son will be using this year. I also purchased a notebooking program for history called History Portfolios. As soon as I learn how to post links I will post them so you can see everything and read about the products.

I will be teaching Ancient history to all my children this year. I will just change the reading requirements and will assign projects that will suit their abilities.

I will be using the Beautiful Feet guide for geography and science. We will be keeping a nature journal for science as well and going on nature walks and other outdoor field trips.

But the most important part of our homeschool will be all the reading we will do together and on our own, and the narrations I will hear from each child. Reading "living books" is the key. If your child says please read more, or don't stop reading mom, then you know it's a living book.

I am very excited about this school year and I hope that my enthusiasm will rub off on the children.

My students are all boys this year. My oldest, the only girl, just graduated from high school. She is not going to college this year, so she will be my assistant. The boys are ages 14, 8, and 6. The baby is 2 months old, and is learning to coo, grab things, and to kick and punch. All five are a blessing to me and I am happy to be called mom.

http://www.4reallearning.com/

http://www.amblesideonline.org/