My best friend has been telling me about Charlotte Mason for several years. I wish I had listened more closely sooner. Before she began following Charlotte Mason principles, another friend and I had been discussing different homeschool styles. She was already homeschooling and my oldest was ready to start. She told me that Charlotte Mason homeschoolers were "free and wild" without any academic or character discipline. Left to their own devices. All because of a book she read called "Wild and Free" (I think it was called?!) And that kept me shut down to hearing about CM or her ideas. I am not going to lie, as we began schooling, I was jealous of how peaceful my friend and her sons were, how rich and broad the things they seemed to be learning about were. I'd see them post about their young children discussing deep things at the dinner table and wonder how they had fostered that. I was over here doing what I knew how to do...public school at home. Workbooks. Flash cards. Drill. And my daughter, who has loved learning so much as a toddler and preschooler began to push back. We were both always in tears, longing for something better. All this time, my friend would invite me to book clubs and I would do my best to read the books and come. Awaking Wonder by Sally Clarkson got my attention first. What I was doing was squelching my child's natural wonder and something must change. Book after book with a little bit here and there was opening me up to understand and accept Charlotte Mason (yes, I'm obviously a little dense to take this long). Then she started a cottage school. And I wasn't invited, because, duh, I had voiced my view of thinking Charlotte Mason was not the best way. But I let her know I would like to visit the school. So she let me. And I loved it. And then we did a book club with A Thinking Love by Karen Glass. That overview of Charlotte Masons's philosophies and ideas tore down every defense I had built against her...because they were all wrong. The very first meeting for that book club, I remember being shook to my core by two things: that children are born persons (of course I knew that, but I realized I had not been treating my children as WHOLE PERSONS...instead as little inferior people with blank slates that needed written upon) and I will never forget her disdain for things all being made child-sized (thinking specifically of things like toy kitchens with all tiny child-sized cookware...which I do still have hahaha!)

I have been scattered the last few weeks and we have been missing morning time and jumping right into lessons. We did morning time today and it felt so good to start off with beautiful music and connection with the kids. I had forgotten how integral morning time is to our education and hope to bring it back to daily habits.