Things I Wish I Had Known When I Began Homeschooling And Why We Are Charlotte Mason Homeschooling

Our homeschool journey has been short so far, but I have come miles and miles from where I began.  My children are currently 7th grade, 5th grade and Kindergarten and the oldest two had primarily gone to public schools until October 2012, when we had moved to a new school system and things began to add up and forced us to make some changes.  

Many, many things influenced our decision, primarily, our lives were losing their Christ focus.  My children were not thriving in public schools; some of the things that make them special and full of potential were a drawback in the classroom setting.  And we were tired of jumping through hoops for others' idea of how to educate a child.  We made the decision and pulled them out within 4 weeks of the first serious contemplation.  Crazy fast, yes, I know.  But, I didn't want to waste any more time.  After some heart to hearts with a couple of other homeschool moms, a ton of curriculum research and the final gut wrenching decisions, I was ready to get started.

Those first few weeks were crazy, for sure, but I kept reminding myself that it was normal.  It takes a few weeks to get a routine and really a year to learn your kids and feel comfortable with the routine.  But there is no better way to learn that to dive in!  You will discover so much about your kids that you never knew!

We have been through curriculum that didn't fit, we have had some days that ended in tears (mainly mine)! But, I wouldn't trade a day of that time for where they were before.  I am learning when to raise the bar and when to lower it!

Here are a few things I wished I had known when I began this journey.

1) Limit Group Lessons

I learned quickly not to expect my 4th grader and 6th grader to take any thing too seriously when we did group lessons. They were used to a formal class room experience, so being at home was relaxed and fun and one look at each others' goofy faces during our combined science and history classes and laughing and silliness would take over.  They could not even share a table without cracking each other up. We quickly moved into independent lessons.  They learn better when they are alone with the material and no distractions.

2) Timed Daily Checklist (at least a Checklist, if you can't set times to it in the beginning)

It helps my children peace of mind when they know what the day looks like when they begin. Since we jumped in so quickly, I had no idea how long things would take and often started the day with a longer list than was possible in a day.  Each child is different and, especially to begin with, any new thing may take longer to get into the swing of.  Now, it's perfectly ok with me now to start each new term with a checklist but change as we go. But, once they learned to use a timer, or keep an eye on a clock, we felt more confidant knowing they have X number of minutes to tackle something. They dive in and get it done.

3) Charlotte Mason, Charlotte Mason, Charlotte Mason

I did not run across the teachings of Charlotte Mason until the Christmas break of our first year, but I read enough that I was immediately intrigued. We were running into roadblocks; grammar that was way too advanced for their level and seemed unnecessary to me, long tedious lessons that were uninspired, and no time to include some elements crucial to the type of education that I wanted to give my family like Bible History, Nature Study, Artist Study, Art and Drawing Lessons, Music Lessons, Latin/Greek, Geography and Biographies on missionaries, great scientists and world changers.  

Charlotte Mason knew that out of everything a child learns in school the things that stay with them are the things that touch their hearts.  What touches your heart?  The beauty of nature, great art, brilliant music, inspiring stories?  If they touch mine, won't they touch my children as well?  I want that for my children.  I want them to care about this blue planet God gave us to live in.  This is what my personal public school education totally missed.  Why not inspire my kids to learn history with great story writers?  Why not inspire their curiosity for science with amazing science books and hands on time in God's creation?  Yes, Charlotte Mason had me from the start.

The Charlotte Mason philosophy is to use short lessons with a lot of variety.  My oldest may have 12-15 items on their checklist every day (some only take 5 minutes) and 20-25 different subjects each week.  Some subjects are every day (Math); some weekly (Biography, Latin/Greek Roots, and some are bi-monthly (Artist and Composer Study). 

Books

The other focus of CM school is on great books.  Books that inspire interest, written by an author who is passionate about his subject are a must.

Where to begin to choose these booklists?  The number one source of help for me on booklists and how to put a schedule like this together is www.charlottemasonhelp.com.  The author is a former public school teacher who is a CM Homeschool mom to 4 and her love for Jesus, comes through in her lofty goals for her children, her patience and endurance for the journey, her booklists and practices in her schooling.  There is so much wisdom to be gleaned from her site.  I also read everything I could by Charlotte Mason and others, online and in books about the CM method to truly inspire me for this course.  

Language Arts

The Charlotte Mason method is a simplified approach in many ways, that uses all the time spent in these great books, to teach many things at once (vocabulary, spelling and more).  But don't mistake simplified approach with easy/unchallenging.  We have Oral and Written Narrations of what they have learned to improve their comprehension by helping them to learn to recall and retell the information.  

Another great website that helped me to understand the process of teaching Language Arts Charlotte Mason Style, is at Wildflowers and Marbles.

We haven't incorporated every subject yet, and we still go weeks sometimes without having time for Nature Study; but my children approach their school days with a new contentment that warms my heart and makes all of it worth it.  

4)  Free Homeschooling Resources

My newest find, and one that I am super excited about is a totally free homeschool website that uses some Charlotte Mason suggestions and principles.  AllInOneHomeschool.com offers All-in-One or Subject by Subject schedules.  Some of the material is written by the Homeschool mom who and some of the material links to free online resources for a complete homeschool education.  We are using the site for part of our Reading Program for my Kindergartener.  

For those who do not know how you can afford to homeschool and buy the books/curriculum you need, please do not let that stop you.  Their are abundant free online resources, and this amazing family has put them online in a smart by grade schedule, to bless others with their hard work.  
 
Also, we have a fabulous public library system here in Orange County, Florida.  I find a good portion of the books we use online on their website and have them sent to our door.  Completely FREE.   

5) A New Family

I wish I had known how different my family would be after making this change.  Their are sibling conflicts here, of course, but overall I have many amazed moments of thinking "Wow, my kids actually like each other now."   They have downtime, and know how to just be kids and entertain themselves.  We don't have to be rushed all the time.  I have learned to be comfortable with having my kids around... all the time. 

Our pace is as fast or as slow as I feel it needs to be for each, new day, each new season.  We have read some unforgettable books, together.   We have seen more blue sky and magnificent oak trees.    

All of this has been one of the biggest challenges God has placed in my life.  But when we made the radical decision to pull them out of public school, I needed to see a radical improvement in their education.  I want radically different kids in the end when they take their first steps into the world of adulthood.  I want them to have confidence in an education that has inspired them to love this world that Jesus loves, be confidant in His love for them and to know who they are in Him.