LIVING the Charlotte Mason Lifestyle
The beautiful appeal of using the Charlotte Mason method is the lifestyle. A completely new way of living happens when you embrace the philosophy of Charlotte Mason Instead of being obsessed with tests, worksheets, multiple-choice answers, and running out the door to every activity offered…
You stay at home more often. You read books to your children. You make an effort to create a clean and comfortable environment. Instead of measuring your children’s academic success with the written test, your children as thriving with this hunger for learning and they prove it by retelling you all that they have read. Your home is a thriving place of activity. The afternoons are bursting with projects, nature study, gardening, keeping a tidy home, and LIVING. Not the way the world tells us to “live”…but LIVING.
In touch with life.
Our children really care. School has not “snuffed out” that love of learning.
💖As mothers, we are learning, too. This lifestyle has a gentle way of teaching us along the way. Our own education is redeemed as we learn right along side our children...
If you are feeling STRESSED and just started this homeschooling thing…. first of all, HUGS! Secondly, relax!
s of today~ Lay aside all the “what if’s” and burdens and rest. Sometimes the rest you need isn’t physical rest but mental rest. In fact, did you know that it would be BETTER for your children to experience a rested mama with no lesson plans that a stressed-out mama trying to “fit it in?” Yes! There have been seasons in my life of trials. We have all had them. TWO things have kept my home running much smoother…our routine and self-education. (More here on my course on routines!)
One particular day I was stressed to the max. So much was going wrong that week…and a sweet homeschool mama came alongside me and said, “The pressure is OFF as of today…” Those words were life to me. So, I am telling you the same thing….The pressure is off, mama! I know your problems won’t instantly go away but take the pressure off of YOUR shoulders and give them to God. He is big enough to carry your burdens. The Charlotte Mason lifestyle allows our children to witness how we deal with “life”. This is invaluable learning.
Flexibility
Are you having a baby soon? Remodeling your home? Perfect! Any of these life interruptions are welcomed in the CM lifestyle. The flexibility of this new life will allow YOU, the teacher, to accommodate anything that life throws your way. I have homeschooled through babies, moving, sickness, hospital stays, traumatic miscarriage, and more. Through it all, my children have adapted and even been a HUGE asset to our home. I have trained my children “home skills” and in desperate times have stepped in a kept our home running smoothly.
I put together this “Home Skills for Children” Binder to help YOU in teaching Home Skills. (FREE WORKBOOK in Course)
Teaching children “Home Skills” is critical. Thankfully, in the CM lifestyle you will have free afternoons to dedicate time to teach this skills. This flexibility sets YOU up for success.
While I still recommend children to take music lessons or hobbies, please be careful NOT to over-schedule your time. The overly “rushed” life will leave you frazzled and children without the free time they need to imagine and create.
The Beauty of Home
Is anything more beautiful than a well-run home? In my eyes, homes are beautiful. Not the physical structure ( although I love the appearance of homes) but the life-giving aspect of your home. Your home is more than four walls. It’s a refuge from life’s storms. It’s a library. A place that offers healthy food. It’s a place of hospitality.
Caring for your home and making it a place that’s clean and comfortable is your ultimate goal. In that environment, children blossom and thrive.
If you are overwhelmed, it is useful to take a week and declutter and reorganize your home. This can be a “home management week” where children learn to organize closets, drawers, and the entire home.
I am currently in a season of busy! I am sure you are, too! In this season, it is easier for me to have less to care for. A few years ago I found myself so frustrated and trying to constantly move material objects around without ever having the chance to really clean. I found out, I needed to rid myself of all the things that I didn’t truly need. ( I am still in that process…purging and organizing) 😊
I want to encourage you today, the CM lifestyle in one of:
- Less stress
- Flexibility
- The Beauty of Home Life
The Rhythms of Home includes checklists to help you sort your cleaning days by: Wash day, Gardening day, Paperwork day, Kitchen/Food Preparation day…etc.
