Discipline

Charlotte Mason

Every mom at some time in her homeschooling journey has to deal with unsavory attitudes. I was speaking to a wonderful “Charlotte Mason mom” today and we were discussing various ways to help our children obey when they are older where we can appeal to their intellect instead using other forms of punishment.

Many homeschooling moms mention that they battle with children who dawdle over schoolwork. Charlotte Mason had a few ways that she recommended to help children overcome dawdling ways.

NOTE: If you are going to enforce this last point, you will have to give over your free time as well to help your child. A few days of missing out on an activity or sibling play time, will be a sure cure for your dawdler and your frustration at schooling times. Please also make sure that you enforce this with a quiet and gentle spirit – no ranting and raving allowed.

Family and Sibling Play

The age old picnic...there is something to be said for the simplest picnic. We try to eat one meal away from home a week. Sometimes we head for the forest, other times for botanical gardens but most recently we picnicked alongside our local dam. If you are fortunate to live on a farm, then you have a daily opportunity on your door step.

Charlotte Mason was also an advocate for a mom taking her children, particularly those who have children under 7, out each day for a meal in the open and some casual nature study. She says: “I venture to suggest what not is practicable in any household, but what's seems to me absolutely best for children...a journey of twenty minutes and a luncheon in a basket will make a day in the country possible to most town dwellers: and if one day why not many and even every suitable day?”

Often if we do not plan to take this time outdoors, a week will go by and the opportunity will be lost. Children love the freedom and space to run as well as the snacky type lunches or dinners that ultimately end up in a picnic basket. Discipline yourselves to make time for this valuable age old tradition.

Organizational Tips

A year ago I created the “Ultimate Homeschooling Moms Planner” on CD to help South African homeschooling moms with their planning needs. Now it is available to moms worldwide as an e-book. Whether you are a relaxed or package homeschooler, you can benefit from this e-book.

The Ultimate Homeschooling Mom’s Planner is filled with more than 130 templates for you to use to customize your family’s schooling, day to day activities, homemaking, futures and so much more. Filled with inspirational quotes and helpful tips the Planner can become the next best thing to a mentor. Read more here...

Romantic Ideas

Planning to take time out for your marriage relationship is one of the most important things you can do. This time changes with each age milestone in your children’s lives. When your children are little you are limited in terms of what you can do, but as they grow and mature there is so much more that you can plan to do. In the past 12 years of parenting we have only left our children for one night. They were comfortably ensconced with granny for that time. Now that they are older, in September we will be traveling to London for 6 days. More on this in the next newsletter.

My question to you wives, do you plan to take time out for your marriage or do you just read these ideas and file it in the “someday-box”? Make a commitment today to spend some one-on-one time with your spouse each week. If you are running dry on ideas, be sure to check out my simple romantic ideas

Quote

“It would be better for boys and girls to suffer the consequences of not doing their work, now and then, than to do it because they are urged and prodded on all hands...” Charlotte Mason

Living books

Henri's Hands for Pablo Picasso is a heart warming story, based on fact, about the little village of Vallauris, Southern France. The village pottery trade has suffered due to the demand for metal cookware. Henri is the son of the village baker and the grandson to a die hard potter. Both father and grandfather have expectations of Henri to follow them in their trade. Neither can agree until Pablo Picasso comes to town and rekindles the pottery and brings economic growth to the village. A lovely read which opens doors for many studies.

Other updates to Homeschool Curriculum for Life

My business partner and I have been very busy upgrading our highschool program for South African studies. Thus I have not had much time to work on my website this month, but it is wonderful to know that as an established SBI site it will keep ticking over without me! One job that was long overdue was the site map. I have revised the site map to make it much easier to find topics of your interest.

Take care until next time,
God’s richest blessings to you as you homeschool,
Wendy

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