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If you're a Charlotte Mason homeschool mom, you probably know the start-of-year feeling well. There's the hopeful notebook shopping, the carefully planned booklist... and then the slightly sinking realisation that when it comes to English and Language Arts for the early years, the market hasn't exactly made things easy for us. Most of us end up cobbling together bits and pieces from different publishers, spending more than we budgeted, and still wondering if we've covered everything. The Charlotte Mason method is so well-documented in theory, but finding a single, cohesive programme that actually stays true to the original PNEU guidelines?...

School represents a significant chapter in your child’s life, spanning 12 years where their primary goal is to learn. Tackling such a lengthy and important project should not be done haphazardly. Instead, focus on creating structure and organisation in your child’s educational environment, especially in the early years when your involvement as a teacher is most prominent. Instilling organised, methodical habits early on can set the stage for long-term success. Start With Structure At the beginning of each school year, ensure your child’s materials are prepared and easily accessible. Gather their stationery, books, and other resources, and designate a special,...

Mathematics was always one of my favourite subjects at school. I enjoyed puzzles and subjects with a fixed set of rules that could be learned and applied to practical problems. Unlike essay-based subjects, where marks might be deducted for leaving out one of many points or for not phrasing answers perfectly, maths felt fair and logical. Unfortunately, mathematics as a subject has never had a good reputation. Many parents inadvertently pass on their own loathing for maths to their children, or children hear from peers that “math is difficult,” “boys are better at maths than girls,” or “I can’t do maths.”...

When a child is first born, they already are a person with their own unique talents, abilities and personality. They are not a blank slate that will eventually develop into a person. Children should be cherished and valued for the person that they are and allowed to develop to their full potential. For this reason, we should not underestimate a child or lower our expectations of them. Charlotte Mason explained that although a child is born a person, they don't know much about the world yet, and so need to learn about the world. They also don't yet know how to...

A key part of the Charlotte Mason philosophy is for your child to learn to develop good habits over time. The reason behind this is because the more something becomes a habit, the less you need to think about it. If a child is regularly and consistently taught to behave in a disciplined and obedient way, it eventually becomes second nature to them, something they naturally do without thinking.  This is easier said than done of course! Charlotte Mason proposed a five stage process to help your child to learn good habits: Inspire: Motivate why the child should learn the good...