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6 Easy Ways to Identify the Charlotte Mason Homeschool Style

October 22, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Six ways to identify the Charlotte Mason homeschool style is important to understanding homeschool learning styles

Because you want to align homeschool learning styles approach with how your children learn best, you need to know the basics of each homeschool approach.

6 Easy Ways to Identify the Charlotte Mason Homeschool Style

Not only do you want to identify characteristics of the Charlotte Mason homeschool style but identifying Charlotte Mason curriculum, you make better choices for your family.

First, you need to understand that learning differences is a good thing.

I’ve helped many homeschoolers who think something is wrong with their child.

The point is folks are different from each other and so are our kids.

I’m a firm believer in finding the homeschool style to match your child’s temperament and most important his learning style and needs.

Charlotte Mason Approach

Let’s dive into looking at the Charlotte Mason homeschool style of teaching.

Who was Charlotte Mason

First, you need to understand who was Charlotte Mason.

Charlotte Mason was a turn-of-the-century British educator who used “living books” rather than textbooks or twaddle.

She encouraged curriculum which includes nature study, picture study, music study, and handicrafts and the normal academic subjects.

Here are 6 ways to identify characteristics of a Charlotte Mason homeschool approach.

A gentle approach to language arts.
There is emphasis on the arts, music, and nature.
Learning should include forming lifelong habits.
More time should be spent outdoors.
Literature based learning is one foundation.
Poetry is important.

The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days.
— Charlotte Mason

Also, you’ll love this book Laying Down the Rails: A Charlotte Mason Habits.

Why Your Child’s Learning Personality is Important

Because teaching styles are only part of choosing curriculum easily, I’ve included a link to my online free course Identifying Your Homeschooled Child’s Learning Personality.

How to Determine the Best Learning Style Approach for Your Child? Determining the best learning style approach is much easier when you know about homeschool learning styles. A learning style is not something I thought about when I started homeschooling or even when my kids were struggling. However, had I taken time to learn what is the best learning style for each of my children, I would have saved myself unnecessary stress.

YOU WILL LEARN:

How to understand the way your child prefers to learn so that you can teach him in a way that he enjoys learning;
How to pinpoint your child’s learning personality;
A starting point in understanding (barring any special learning challenges or disabilities) and accepting your child’s preferred way of taking in information;
Understanding when the learning personality emerges; and
Teaching tips for each learning personality to stop the head-butting.

Other Homeschool Learning Style Resources

In addition, look at these other Charlotte Mason resources:

Charlotte Mason Resources

Easy and Fun Pine Cone Snowy Owl Winter Craft for Kindergarten

October 20, 2022 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

This fun snowy owl winter craft for kindergarten can be used for a winter unit study. Grab more craft ideas on my kindergarten homeschool curriculum page.

Whoooo doesn’t love owls? Sorry, corny pun. If you are working on an owls unit study or talking about winter I have the perfect hands-on winter craft to add

You probably won’t even need a trip to the store to put together this snowy owl winter craft for kindergarten.

Easy and Fun Pine Cone Snowy Owl Winter Craft for Kindergarten

Whether you are learning about winter, owls, or even just looking for an O or W craft for your letter of the week this simple activity is fun and cute to include.

You can find pinecones on your nature walk.

But if not, you can also find them at craft stores in the seasonal section.

Add a few books and additional activities like videos and you have a quick mini snowy owl unit study ready to go.

Snowy Owl Facts

Female owls remain with the babies while the male owl brings food back.
A baby owl is called an owlet.
They have feathers all over their legs and feet to keep them warm.
They are quite large. Their wingspan can reach 4’-5’ wide.
Snowy owls are diurnal, unlike most other owls. Instead of hunting at night they hunt during the day.
Male owls are pretty much solid white. Females have brown markings on their white plumage.
Snowy owl pairs mate for their whole life.
Lemmings make up most of the snowy owls diet.
By the time they are just 6 weeks old, snowy owls can fly well.

Snowy Owl Books

Nature Anatomy is the perfect companion spine for little learners, even if they are not reading yet.

The illustrations are fantastic and the little pieces of info they give are just enough for you to read and keep their attention.

I found a two page spread on owls to go along with the craft.

Gail Gibbons books are also a fantastic choice if you love the idea of Charlotte Mason style living books.

Owls are perfect to go along with this activity too.

The classic Owl Babies would also be a wonderful addition to your book collection.

Look below for more ideas.

Winter Unit Study Ideas

Try these other activities along with your winter craft

Listen to these Snowy Owl Sounds while you craft from YouTube.
Also look at my Inuit of the Arctic: How Animals Survive Harsh Winters Fun Blubber Activity. It is a fun way to demonstrate how Arctic animals keep warm.
How to Make fake snow with 2 ingredients for your owlet to hide in or for your little learner to play with in a sensory bin.
This Owl Babies Craft is absolutely adorable and would make for a great companion activity to this one.

Finally, measure out 5’ with painters tape on the floor to demonstrate to your child how large the snowy owl wingspan can be.

Next, let’s make a pine cone snowy owl craft.

Snowy Owl Winter Craft for Kindergarten

You will need:

A large pine cone
Craft glue
White and yellow craft felt
White feathers, cotton balls, or cotton batting.
Tan or yellow pipe cleaner
Googly eyes

First, prepare small pieces of cotton batting, cotton balls, or white feathers.

Cut wing shapes from white felt. Cut them a little bigger than you think you need.

Try on your pinecone and trim as needed.

Draw w’s with a paint marker or sharpie to create feather definition on the wings.

Cut a small beak and two circles slightly larger than your google eyes from the yellow felt..

Squeeze a generous amount of school glue into the openings between the scales of the pinecone.

Stuff in your cotton pieces to make it fluffy.

I had originally intended on using fiber fill on the owl because I had it on hand but took a run to Hobby Lobby and found this cute little fluffy boa on sale for $1.50.

It looked so soft we couldn’t resist.

I cut it into little pieces to make stuffing all over easier. Encourage your child to fill it in and create a sweet little fluff ball baby owl.

When the pinecone is stuffed and fluffy to their liking, glue the wings, beak, and eyes in place with a generous amount of glue.

We found that laying it on its back to dry helped keep the pieces from sliding off.

Finish off by gluing small v shaped pieces of pipe cleaner/chenille stems to the bottom for his feet.

Other Winter Craft Ideas for Kindergarten

Also, look at a few more craft ideas.

Day 20 Homeschool Lesson Planning And New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp

October 18, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Homeschooling at the beginning is not about stressing about homeschool lesson planning but learning how to lesson plan if you want to. Today is Day 20 homeschool lesson planning of the 31 Day Free Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers.

There is a big difference.

Just as you would not expect your child to know how to read this year until you start together, you need to cut yourself some slack in how to lesson plan.

Day 20 Homeschool Lesson Planning And New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp

Each new homeschooler’s background makes a difference if he or she feels qualified or not to teach their children.

Do not stress over the fact that you do not know how to lesson plan.

Struggling homeschoolers and even seasoned veterans are constantly scrutinizing their lesson plans versus how much time they have in the day to school.

Homeschool Lesson Planning Tips

Lesson Planning is Just As Much Lesson Journaling.

This may sound like another oxymoron but in the beginning, it is better to journal what you accomplished at the end of the day. This is a huge benefit for several reasons. One reason is because you can realistically see what you can achieve for the day.

This will fast forward your learning curve because you will plan closer to what your children can realistically finish for the day. Avoiding wasting valuable years being stressed out over unrealistic lesson planning will add joy to your journey.

Many organizing planning mommas have been misled thinking they have more hours in their days than the rest of us.

By seeing what was accomplished versus what was planned gives you a more realistic feel for lesson planning.

Write it All Down.

Paper planner, online planner, app or great big oversized calendar in your kitchen, it does not matter. Keeping track of what you do is all that matters.

Yes, I love my curriculum planner and I have found that many times anytime I tried something online, I came back to paper planners.

They work for me because I have it sitting writing there beside me and no need to boot up. However, that is just me. You may prefer and may do better with something else. It does not have to be elaborate, simple works best.

Launch A Lesson Plan.

Whether you are using a boxed curriculum or choosing each subject yourself, you will one day want to substitute a lesson plan.

Maybe you want to plan how to complete a book. Again, my suggestion is that because you want to learn how to lesson plan your first or second year, start right away. Jump into lesson planning now and test the waters.

Look at this example below of how to cover a grammar book for the school year.

Study each step as I have thoughts and questions that you need to ask yourself. It is an easy way to learn the beginnings of lesson planning because you have a resource.

Later on. as you become more skilled, you can make lesson plans from practically any resource.

Day 20: Lesson Plan or Lesson Journal? {31 Day Boot Camp For New Homeschoolers on My Blog}

7 Steps for Planning a Homeschool Lesson

Determine the total days in your school year or time for the curriculum. Note: Typical days in a school year are 180. I will use that number too.
. Decide how to divide the book/curriculum. Dividing by chapters is an easy way.
Weed out chapters/content that you don’t want/need to cover. I started with 32 chapters and whittled it down to 30 that I feel we may need this year.
Determine chapters you want to cover. I will cover 30 chapters over the course of a school year.
Simple Division. Divide 30 chapters by 180 day equals about 6 days per chapter to cover it for the time I have allowed.
Ask: Do I want to include special projects or testing ? Then adjust the number of days up or down depending on what type of projects.
Can some of it be covered orally so that there is not so much writing?

A plan has to be adjusted to your needs and to your household and not copy what you see seasoned veterans doing.

It is hard to not compare yourself to seasoned veterans because you may have set real high expectations this year.

You may feel their success and confidence might be absorbed through some type of osmosis if you copy exactly what they are doing.

The problem with this is that you don’t lead their lives and vice versa.

Lesson planning and tweaking curriculum are learned arts. Give yourself some time and in the meantime take advantage of laid out or boxed curriculums if you want to.

New to Homeschooling Start with the Basics

1 – 7 Start with the Homeschool Basics

8-14 Homeschool Organization 101 for Beginners

15 – 21 Best tips for New Homeschoolers Choosing Curriculum

How to Determine the Best Learning Style Approach for Your Child?

October 15, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Determining the best learning style approach is much easier when you know about homeschool learning styles.

A learning style is not something I thought about when I started homeschooling or even when my kids were struggling.

However, had I taken time to learn what is the best learning style for each of my children, I would have saved myself unnecessary stress.

How to Determine the Best Learning Style Approach for Your Child?

And although a lot of resources exist about learning styles, I like simple explanations.

Instead of using the technical terms in the educational world, I find using the term learning personality is more beneficial.

It’s easy to understand that each child has a different personality and it affects how and what they learn.

Some children are more language arts focus, others more craft focus, and still others relationship focus.

Styles of Homeschooling

For example, when I started homeschooling, I used only a workbook approach. It’s the only learning style I knew from my experience in public school.

However, as I homeschooled longer, I researched the other learning style approaches besides just workbook approach.

The other four approaches besides workbook approach are

the Unit Study approach,
Classical approach,
Unschooling approach and
Charlotte Mason approach.

Determining which learning style works for your family helps you to choose curriculum that works for your family.

Look at these questions which will help you to determine the best homeschool approach for your family.

Do your child learn best by doing? Charlotte Mason, the Unschooling and Unit Study approach all focus on hands-on activities. Of course the topics you study about will be applicable, but each of these approaches advocates hands-on learning.
Are you wanting your children to model great minds of the past? Then you’ll want to learn about the Classical approach.
If your child prefers to stay on topic and you want to cover all school subjects through the one topic then research a Unit Study approach.
Some families prefer that learning is child-led and the parent is only the facilitator. Then research the Unschooling approach.
Maybe you live in a state where strict record keeping is necessary. Then, can you combine a workbook approach which makes test taking and record keeping easier with another approach loved by your family.

Why Your Child’s Learning Personality is Important Too

Because teaching styles are only part of choosing curriculum easily, I’ve included a link to my online course Identifying Your Homeschooled Child’s Learning Personality.

YOU WILL LEARN:

How to understand the way your child prefers to learn so that you can teach him in a way that he enjoys learning;
How to pinpoint your child’s learning personality;
A starting point in understanding (barring any special learning challenges or disabilities) and accepting your child’s preferred way of taking in information;
Understanding when the learning personality emerges; and
Teaching tips for each learning personality to stop the head-butting.

Other Homeschool Learning Style Resources:

Day 19 Guiding Homeschool Teens And New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp

October 14, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Guiding older children or homeschool teens is our topic for day 19 of the 31 Day Free Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers.

Teaching teens can be a joy. I know there are many nightmare stories about teens.

And I too have experienced my sons’ surges of emotions, but I’ve breathed in every minute of enjoying their company.

Day 19 Guiding Homeschool Teens And New Homeschooler Free Bootcamp

However, I have also learned in helping other new homeschoolers that teaching teens whom you have homeschooled from the beginning is quite a different story than teaching a teen that has just been pulled out of public school.

Academics have to be put on auto pilot if your relationship has suffered or is suffering.

Guiding Homeschool Teens

This is true whether you homeschool from the beginning or are just starting out. It is possible to restore and repair any strained relationships if you are willing to work on relationships at the same time as refining their school subjects.

Also, teaching homeschool teens requires a bit more of diplomacy over discipline. So, I hope in sharing these tips from the trenches, you will benefit.

Tips from the Homeschool Trenches on Guiding Teens

When your children are young, you are making almost all the decisions on curriculum. It is not that way as they grow older.

1. Preparing for Adulthood Means Your Teen Gives Input Now.

Give up some of the control without giving up the authority as a parent.

Include your child in some of the research, scheduling and selection of curriculum.

It will be hard for them to learn how to weigh a heavy decision when they are an adult like choosing a job or marriage mate when they are not allowed to make a decision on books, science experiments and teacher’s manuals.

Learning to make decisions and accepting consequences for decisions made are best learned under your roof and while they are still living with you.

Day 19: Guiding Older Children. {31 Day Boot Camp For New Homeschoolers on My Blog}

If your teen seems to be behind in every subject now that you are a full time homeschooler, don’t be discouraged.

2. Relationship Over the Three Rs – reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic

but take time to work through the lower grades. You’d be surprised at how fast a teen can get caught up when he is inspired and has your support.

This is one time in their life when a relationship means more than the 3 R’s. A good heart will be of far more lasting value than not learning how to do math on their fingers.

Besides, I know a lot of brilliant people who still do math on their fingers.

Capture his heart for the doing of good and all education will be used for that. We want to teach our children to be self-less, not self-serving when it comes to helping others. We don’t want to lose that goal in the academic road that lies ahead.

Your teen may not look like they need you now and even to other people may look like an adult, but now is the time they your solid and consistent principles are needed more than ever.

Toddlers require a lot of physical work and it can be exhausting. Teens require a lot of meaningful conversations that seem to drain me at times faster than any physical activity.

Then I remember I have a few short years left now and don’t want to waste any opportunities and discuss all that is on their mind.

My household has changed now and I find it weird and strange to ask things like did you remember to shave before we leave for a field trip.

3.Relationship with Others Outside the Family is a Must

Teens need a network of true friends outside their family. Having friends adds to the joy of living and many homeschoolers do not want their children to be loners. A lot of homeschool teens enjoy their life and it is natural to want friends.

I read one article that said learning how to make friends is like riding a bicycle and neither one can be learned from a book. We encourage our sons to make friends with persons of all ages. Long lasting friendships are priceless treasures. While they are with you and are honing in on how to size up a man by his character, you can guide them about social relationships.

Do their friends have the same values? Do their friends like them for who they are and not what they can get from them?

Even though their life in the next few years will have plenty of demands of adulthood, don’t close the gap on the care free days of being a young man or young woman too soon. They will pass through this stage and enter adult hood which has it own weighty responsibilities soon enough.

One day I will exhale, but for now I’m savoring every moment of guiding my teens.

How To - - -

6 Easy Ways to Identify the Charlotte Mason Homeschool Style