flynn011

This October, I had the great privilege of meeting up with about thirty home-educating mums in the UK who use the Charlotte Mason method. We rented rooms in the youth hostel at Ambleside, and stayed up late in the conference room, sharing ideas, swapping stories, and sipping wine. A sub-set on the great CM retreat Our final day, we took a lovely ramble around Rydal Water and topped off the adventure with a pub meal at the Kirkstone Pass Inn. The Grotto at Rydal Hall The only problem is that the way to the inn was up a narrow, steep lane called “The Struggle”. It’s in honour of this little lane that I’m writing this blog post. A Wikimedia Image, capturing the drama that lies ahead You see, I have been having my own “struggle” over the past six months or so. While it’s true that I’ve been homeschooling for over thirteen years, have appeared in the UK newspaper and on the radio as a “with it” and “together’ home-educator, have my vision and my approach really sorted out, things haven’t be...

I'm so pleased to hear that my blog, which has been running for about five years now, has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Homeschool Blogs by Healthy Moms Magazine. Woo-hoo! Boyschooling soars! I started the blog because, like all the hiking we do as a family, it's so much better to travel along paths that are already worn than trying to create new ones in the tangle and undergrowth of life. Homeschooling can be challenging enough, so following a path worn by those who have gone before can make it a bit easier. Don't get me wrong: I'm not averse to being a pioneer, but when a lot of us find ourselves in a battle with boys who won't write, struggle with our son's anger issues, fear we're succumbing to the pressure to try this curriculum or that style, then it seems silly to re-invent the wheel, family by family. So thank you so much to Healthy Moms Magazine, and all you who have followed me over the years, shared my musings and encouragements, and benef...

This is going to be a long post. I apologise in advance, but I encourage you to read it, and read to the end: it could fundamentally change how you educate your children at home. You see, every August/September, I have a crisis of direction. Even after doing this for 13 years. Even after becoming a firm believer in the philosophy and fruits of the Charlotte Mason method.  Even after applying all the good parts of public school that I learned as a teacher there, and knowing what to discard and what to bar completely from entering through our doors. You’ve probably felt this way, too. In August and September, everyone starts shouting what they’re planning to do for the year — singing the praises of this curriculum, or that program, or about exams or credits or dual-enrollment or American style or whatever, and you think: … maybe … I’m … doing … it … wrong. Chances are, you are doing it wrong. Almost all of us are. Me included. Let me explain. First of all, I think there are basically...

Back, back, w-a-y back in about 2001, I was researching the idea of home-educating my daughter who was then only a year old. I was a teacher, and she was going to a child-minder three days a week. Out of the blue one day, it dawned on me: why was I leaving my own child with somebody, while I went out to teach other people's children?!! Teaching your own has intrinsic rewards. Sometimes, we parents get into home-education because we fundamentally disagree with the education system; or because we are torn to pieces about what a certain school or even a certain collection of children are doing to our own precious one; or because we don't find traditional schooling a good fit. All of these are perfectly good reasons, but they're kind of negative ones -- we reject the norm to embrace the unusual. But what if the unusual were the RIGHT way, and that we embrace it because it's been the best way all along? Learning in the "field" with the whole body This became clear ...

It’s that time of year. Facebook and blogs and Yahoo groups and forums are full of people’s schedules. I used to write mine up in great detail on Excel — talk about Throwback Thursday (even though it’s Saturday!) Here two of my schedules from the past: Best laid plans of yesteryear And what about now? How do I home-educate four children between the ages of 8 and 15? Well, now my schedule looks like this: My plan for this year How have I gone from ticky-boxy to book-stacky? Basically, three things have changed in the past two years: I have fully embraced the idea that homeschooling is as much as about a relationship among the family as it is about a relationship with our studies, and therefore, I’m committed to teaching the kids together as much as possible. Homeschooling is so much more than just studies I have fully embraced the idea that recording what we’ve done is as successful an approach as planning what we will do: more so, in fact, because the stresses of “falling behind” are g...

If you've ever tried to introduce your children to Chaucer, you may discover that you can find either story-book versions or modern translations. The former is rather dumbed-down, and the latter is ... well, if you know anything about Chaucer, Too Much Information!!! To my mind, there is only one book that gives an adequate flavour of The Canterbury Tales without all the rude, farty bits, and that's a very old book called A Taste of Chaucer by Anne Malcolmson. Now a rare book! Up until about three years ago, A Taste of Chaucer was available in paperback from Sonlight, but after the death of the author, it disappeared from the catalogue, and pretty much all affordable options dried up. However, good news! The book is due to make another appearance, this time in ebook format, thanks to the generosity of Malcolmson's family. Knights dance at the news! The publication date is set for 10th of October, 2015. Sign up to the website for updates , and "like" the Facebook p...

If you have ever wondered what the Charlotte Mason method is about, or if you are implementing it in the best way or not, then look no further than Cindy West's new ebook called "Charlotte Mason Homeschooling in 18 Easy Step-by-Step Lessons." New Workbook from Shining Dawn Books I first encountered this book about a month ago when someone mentioned it on Facebook. I bought a copy because I wanted to see if there were an easy introduction to CM that didn't overwhelm a newbie with information. The answer was -- YES -- this is an easy introduction to CM that doesn't overwhelm. More than that, it's a great reminder and tool for veterans like myself to remember the important hallmarks of the CM method, and even gentle helps for re-introducing the bits that often fall by the wayside, like music appreciation or art. It further inspired me in the planning of the online courses I run under the name of Dreaming Spires Home Learning -- to choose living books, to encourag...