When I
was in
I thought
I’d start at the beginning. I have had
times that I’ve been stopped in the store with my children by a mother who
inquires whether we homeschool. When I
answer that yes, we do, the next question is often from her heart – she wants
to know how to start homeschool with her own children. She sees someone up close and personal who is
doing it, and she wants to know how she can do it, too. It’s a scary thought, but often times,
mothers know there must be something better for their children than what they
are currently doing, they just don’t know how to do it. When they meet someone who has all (or most)
of her marbles, even though she is doing something as monumental as educating
her own children, they believe it might just be possible for them to do it,
too!
Other
times, another homeschooling mom is looking for something to make her life a
little easier, and she will ask how she can start homeschool with the methods
of Charlotte Mason.
I always
have to give a little disclaimer here. I
LOVE the CM method of education! I can’t
imagine doing our home schooling any other way!
I am passionate about helping homeschoolers find easier, better ways to
educate their children! The disclaimer
is this – I do realize that other people do a fantastic job of educating their
own children with some other method. I
know that Miss Mason’s methods aren’t the only methods that successfully
educate children. So, although I can’t
imagine educating my children any other way – I know it’s not the only good way
to educate children. I don’t want anyone
thinking that I feel that I’m superior in my homeschool because of our method.
OK, back
to the question from moms who want to know how to start homeschool in their own
homes. I feel that the best place to
start is where your child is! Do you
have a child that loves to be read to?
Then living books is the place to start!
Get a great story book and start reading. If your child is old enough (Over 6, at
least!) start narration with this story.
Read a little and ask her to tell the story back to you in her own
words. You’ll know right away if the
story connected with her imagination.
Do you
have a child who loves to be outdoors and enjoying the fresh air and open
space? Start with nature study! Point out an interesting bug, plant, flower,
squirrel, bird, snake, frog, caterpillar – whatever! – and encourage your child
to stop and really look at it. Ask your
child to narrate your special find – to tell you what they see, in as much
detail as they can. (No pressure this
time!) Your child may even want to
imitate what they are seeing – let him!
It’s his way of narrating. Eventually,
you will want to put a pencil and a piece of paper in their hand and ask them
to draw the thing they see – or at least a portion of it. (A whole tree may be too much to ask – start
with a leaf from the tree.)
Do you
have a child who loves to write? Start
with copywork! If you start small
enough, you can even use copywork to encourage your reluctant writer to love
writing! Some Charlotte Mason copywork
suggestions are – scripture, poetry, songs, hymns, great quotes from great men
and women, passages from great books, etc.
Just have your child copy something in about 10 minutes – and have them
do it perfectly. If they make mistakes,
repeat the same lesson tomorrow. Spend
just 10 minutes a day to start – that’s all it takes.
Does your
child love to create works of art? OK,
so maybe they won’t have a showing in the trendy art studios in
So, go
ahead and try one of these things. This
is how to start homeschool in your home with the methods of Charlotte Mason. You can start today! (Or tomorrow, if you are reading this while
your children are in bed!)
Please,
share with me your stories of how you started out in your homeschooling. I think those who haven’t yet taken the
plunge would be encouraged to see that others have done it and lived to tell
about it! They want to know how to start
homeschool in their homes, and they will benefit from your stories!
