How to Pursue an Understanding of a Charlotte Mason Education {Day 1 - Motivation Monday}

I've been wondering what I could possibly write about today that hasn't been already covered somewhere on this blog  and realised that I've been home educating for 20 years.  That's two decades.  I was a little stunned to come to that realisation and it also made me realise why I was feeling as weary as I was.

Nathaniel and I have been on this journey together for a while and are approaching our final stretch and the finish line seems to be peeking at us both on the far horizon.  Over the last five years I have been growing a passion for the Charlotte Mason educational philosophy. At the end of last year I came to the realisation if I truly wanted to know more about this philosophy I would need to earnestly do something about it.

Tip ONE - Stay in the Village

Looking back over the last few years I have noticed a big shift within the home educating community.  There has been a move towards the digital era and we have lost the art of face to face relationships.  Home educating is a marathon not a sprint and as such we need the support of other Mom's who are on the same journey we are on.

I am deeply grateful to a group of younger home school Mom's from the local Charlotte Mason support group I've been attending. I have gained much from their enthusiasm and energy. Each time we meet I come home with a new list of fabulous books to bless my son with and a renewed sense of purpose.

If you have been on this journey for a while I would encourage you to keep meeting with younger Mom's they have much to give us.

Tip TWO - Keep Learning

Last year while attending my local Charlotte Mason support group I came to realise that I had never actually read all of Charlotte's writings.  Each time I looked at the box of books containing The Original Home Schooling Series I felt a little overwhelmed at the prospect of taking on reading Charlotte in her own words.

Caddie W from the support group encouraged me to listen to some podcasts (I highly recommend Stitcher - Podcasts & Radio App, it is easy to install and use.) presented by a group of home educating Mothers from A Delectable Education.  I decided to go all the way back to the beginning and listen to the podcasts in order.  I was totally blown away by the depth and richness of Charlotte Mason and her philosophy.

It was at this point I grew a deep hunger to read the complete set of six books that Charlotte wrote.

Tip THREE - Surround Yourself with Accountability Partners

Once I had decided I wanted to read Charlotte in her own words I knew I needed some support.  Having a group of close woman who were committed to read was what I needed.  I knew that each month we would be meeting and I would need to have read the book in order to participate in the conversation and I did not want to miss out!   I have a wonderful group of three other Mom's who I know are reading and preparing for the next meeting and this inspires me to keep moving forward.

Tip FOUR - Set Attainable Goals

Once we had our group set up we realised we needed an attainable goals.  Caddie found some fabulous ideas and thoughts on starting a group and after some looking at the books and calculations we decided that reading through the volumes was an attainable goal.  A few of us are in the high school years and realised that we could not take too slow a pace or we would still be reading the books and our children would have completed school!  We settled on reading SIX page a day and meeting once a month via Skype call to talk about our reading and what had impacted each of us.

 Tip FIVE - Set a Time Limit

This was important for all of us. As mom's we crave time to connect and fellowship. We however knew that in order to make a success of this meeting we needed a time limit or we would end up talking about all sorts of things other than what we started with.  We also needed to know what time we would start and end as each of us would be at home for these meetings.  We meet for an hour once a month and we aim to get together twice a year during the school holidays to fellowship.

Closing Thoughts on Pursuing Knowledge of a Charlotte Mason Education

I have been surprised at how relevant Charlotte's writings are for us today. She was a woman wise beyond her years.  Every bit of her writing is spot on and in line with what is scientifically known today.   When I first started reading her works, it took time to read the pages as her writings are wonderfully rich and thought provoking.  As I have become more familiar with the depth of her thoughts it's become easier and faster to read the six pages a day.

I highly encourage you to take the time to become familiar with the Original Home Schooling Series written by Charlotte Mason.

Blessings
Chareen

The Original Home Schooling Series by Charlotte Mason can be purchased from The Book Depostiory

• The Original Home Schooling Series 6-in-1 Omnibus Edition
• Book 1 - Home Education
• Book 2 - Parents and Children
• Book 3 - School Education
• Book 4 - Ourselves
• Book 5 - Formation of Character
• Book 6 - Towards a Philosophy of Education

The Original Home Schooling Series can also be purchased from

• Living Book Press
  • The Complete Home Education Series (6 Books) – Charlotte Mason
  • The Complete Home Education Series (6 Books) – Charlotte Mason (PDF).
• Amazon
• The Original Home Schooling Series: Study Edition by Simply Charlotte Mason

This post is part of the Homeschool Review Crew 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement Blog Hop.

Grab a cuppa and be prepared to be motivated for the year ahead.  Here are a few of the participants of this years blog hop.  Be sure to take a look at some of the posts shared by our wonderful home educating mom's.

• Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool
• Angie @ Run Ran Family Adventures & Learning
• Annette @ A Net in Time
• Ashley @ Gift of Chaos
• Betty @ Let’s Get Real
• Brenda @ Counting Pinecones
• Carol @ Home Sweet Life