Last weekend I spoke at a women’s retreat about the richness of everyday life in a homeschooling family, looking at it from the point of view of Charlotte Mason.
I had four things that I focused on. First, I looked at Charlotte’s understanding of children, human nature and the idea of personhood. That children are born persons with all the potential that implies.
Charlotte’s understanding of personhood led her to this motto: Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life. During my talk I unpacked these three things; the atmosphere that we create in our homes, the discipline of habits, and a life sustained by ideas.
Life can be rich without being expensive. It can be abundant without being fussy. It can be plentiful in so many ways. And we, as parents, as mothers, create the atmosphere in our homes that will foster that lifestyle.
That’s not to say that we need to be discouraged or feel bad about what we might not be managing to do. We can focus on the good things and make small changes which have a big positive impact.
If you would like me to come and talk to your group, please contact me: stephanie@homeschoolfamily.com
If you want to know more about using Charlotte Mason’s ideas in your homeschooling look at Charlotte Mason Made Easy