I am in a local book club, studying Charlotte Mason’s 20 Principles using the study guide by Brandy Vencel. I’ve done this study in an online group before, but there’s something different and more personal in a local group that includes people who know your kids and family. Last month’s meeting was on Principle 1:…
Character is one of those words we toss around often. Too often, we do so without a clear understanding of what it is. We say we care about character, perhaps even homeschool for the purpose of shaping our children’s character, but what exactly does that mean and how exactly do we go about such a…
I wasn’t allowed to ride my bike. Back in the 80s, homeschooling was not hip. Homeschooling was not even a category anyone but a few families who listened to Focus on the Family had in their heads. So riding my bike during school hours was not ok – I’d be stopped as a truant for…
If there’s anyone who needs self-care, it’s stay at home moms, right? The other day as I stared into the empty bottom of my coffee mug, a movie quote jumped to mind: “I don’t want to see the bottom of this glass,” uttered desperately. It’s an early scene in Mask of Zorro, before the drunk…
Every once in awhile I chat with someone who wants to quibble about using the term classical education. For one reason or another, they think the label classical should be abandoned. On the one hand, I don’t care. Call it whatever you want. We can have a conversation about True Education, Real Education, a Liberal…
Yes, education is a life, but life also educates. As mother-teachers our job is much bigger than a school administrator. While he oversees curriculums and courses of study and rhythms of the school day, we do that while also overseeing meals, housework, sports, music lessons, outside activities, wardrobes – basically, every little detail. Good news:…
Over the years I’ve had conversations with several people who just can’t seem to get beyond the term “classical” in education. “What hath Athens to do with Jerusalem?!” they exclaim – generally with more words and less pithily. This is a question that has already been asked and answered, if we will listen and learn….
“Mommy! He hit me!” “But he was being annoying!” How easy is it to start barking out the orders: “You, don’t tattle.” “You, don’t lie.” “You, don’t hit.” “You, mind your own business.” …and then collapse in a heap on the floor, exhausted and ready to throw up hands in dismay. We can sense that…
One of the mottos in our Morning Time binder this term is a Shakespeare quote: “Expectation is the root of all heartache.” As we’ve repeated this saying day in and day out for the last 5 weeks, I’ve been contemplating how true it is. It’s biblical, echoing James: But each person is tempted when he…
Last year my word of the year was virtue. Talk about an overwhelming word of the year! In that post, I wrote: Virtue is the goal of classical education, which is my “day job” as a homeschooling mother. The goal isn’t the math lesson, the goal is growing the person doing the math lesson. Virtue…