"They must be let alone, left to themselves a great deal, to take in what they can of the beauty of earth and heavens; for of the evils of modern education few are worse than this- that the perpetual cackle of his elders leaves the poor child not a moment of time, nor an inch of space, wherein to wonder- and grow. At the same time, here is the mother's opportunity to train the seeing eye, the hearing ear, and to drop seeds of truth into the open soul of the child, which shall germinate, blossom, and bear fruit, without further help or knowledge of hers. " Charlott mason
 | a | Mom School Devotional - Devotional is done daily on the couch with all the children gathered around mother as a start to our day. 
History - Rotate through the four main history focuses, once topic a day, four times in a week. Each focus topic/ time frame/ place could be studied anywhere from four days to four weeks depending on the level of interest, importance, and materials. 
Flashcards and Worksheets - We will use flash cards and worksheets to drill and review some of the foundational concepts of learning. Mostly this will be done in spelling and math. We do several things to make flash cards more fun. When flashing them we say the words in funny sounding voices. We sound like a lion or a mouse or an alien or something fun while we say the flash cards. The kids like to flash the cards to each other. For reading and spelling my younger kids read the words and the older kids spell it back to the younger kids, who makes sure it is correct. Racing through the cards to see how fast you can possibly get through them also keeps them involved.  Learning Stations - Learning Stations will be used to create Multi Sensory fun learning play that helps children master the three R's, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.  Rotating Learning Activities We will rotate through these learning activities, doing one a day. In this way we can cover a wide range of learning topics a little bit at a time.  Science Webquests - The kids will be challenged to one webquest a week. Most of the webquests will have a Natural Science focus. The science topics will be divided into the seven days of creation, with a focus of learning to be creators, and creating things with our knowledge. Also we will have a web questions jar that the kids can chose questions from to do their own webquests through out the week in order to inspire more learning based screen time.  Nature/ Art/ Everything Journals - We will be making our own nature journal books, that I hope to blog about, so they can be as flexible as possible. The nature journals will also be art journals and education journals, and writing practice. We will use this format this year instead of the homeschool note books we have done in the past. The kids will be encouraged to journal three to four times a week. Nature Journaling is a great Saturday and Sunday activity because it is quite, connected to God's world, and requires low parental involvement.  Homesteading Skills - Once a week we will work on our homesteading skills and process Gods blessings into useful things like soap, bread, and yogurt. The children will be invited into these homesteading moments inorder to pass the skills down to the next generation.  Try Its - Try its is a Girl Scouts term. I am using it here because it seems to best title this area of learning. During try it time we will do active applications of our learning. This will be done through field trips, projects and ethnic food.  Active Play Active Play happens everyday. The majority of the child's lives should be in active play mode. With a focus on Charlotte Mason approach of, the child left alone will naturally grow and learn. At the end of structured learning I will many times introduce an active play game or idea. Then I will let the kids go off to play and see what comes of it. The kids will be left to play until Family Evening Time.  Family Evening Time Evenings are for families. This is when strong family bonds are created, and wonderful together time is available. In our evenings we will cook together, eat together, clean together, read together, pray together, and then head off to sleep.  Homemaking - The kids will each take turns helping get dinner ready. During this time they will learn valuable homemaking skills in a one on one setting.  Family Reading Time - Family reading will begin with family scripture reading, what a wonderful way to use this great book to teach our world view to our children and raise up children unto the Lord. Afterwards we will read in the family classic of choice.  Family Prayer - Family prayer is a bonding opportunity to come together in love for each other, to be close, to think of others needs, and to count our blessings. What a great end to a wonderful day, a gift from the Lord.  |
