Homeschool and Charlotte Mason

I've always wanted to homeschool, since before J started kindergarten, but it was too expensive and I was not sure we could handle it. K12 has been a real eye opener of what I can handle and how they learn best, but we are all unhappy with their system and do not want to use the public schools where we live now.

So I kept looking and found the most wonderful sources. At the end of this year we will switch to a blend of Build Your Library and Ambleside Online. Thinking back I am heartsick at lost time when this beautiful free resource was available and I had no idea. It is hard to let go.

Ableside Online is based on the methods of Charlotte Mason, so I started reading her books which has made me a little sad about my own childhood. Not only the beautiful classic books I missed out on, but the lessons she considered crucial.

One habit she instructs parents to focus on is redirecting negative thoughts so that children learn to control them. I think I would be a completely different person now if someone had helped me with this as a child instead of just telling me to "get over it" as if all children are just born with that skill. Maybe some are, but definitely not all.

Another parent wrote that she enjoys ambleside because she feels like she is getting the education she always wanted for herself along with her children, and that is how it feels to me as well.

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