This week I’m writing + filming about a hallmark This week I’m writing + filming about a hallmark of the Charlotte Mason method: narration. Have you ever heard of it? What would you like to know? 

I’m focusing heavily on how we use narration in our homeschool, but if you have specific questions about it, I would love for you to 1. Take the poll in my stories, and 2. Ask any questions you may have about narration in the comments so that I can answer them in my video! ❤️
Happy Mother’s Day! I especially want to encoura Happy Mother’s Day! I especially want to encourage those who are intentionally making a better life for their children than what they may have experienced as kids. It is not easy to change the cycle, but it’s well worth the effort. 

In the words of Louisa May Alcott, “A woman's happiest kingdom is home, her highest honor is the art of ruling it not as a queen, but a wise wife and mother."
📚 We are moving right along with term three of 📚 We are moving right along with term three of our school year. Slow but steady, we will finish up mid June and I’ll begin prepping for next school year in July and August! 📚

Here’s some of my random old and new tips + what I’ve been doing to help keep organized with the CMEC. 

01. Keep a regular day for nature outings or field trips. We have two days a week where I intentionally plan a hike or museum visit, etc. One is usually at the middle of the week and the other is at the end. It offers great variety to our weeks.

02. Notebook! I have had the girls consistently notebook this year, and it’s been such a delight to go back and see my form 1b student’s progress! I have a video coming out about how we notebook and why you should try it very soon! 

03. To stay on track with our morning timetable I’ve been writing the time we end each lesson in my logbook. It’s really changed how productive I am in making sure we get everything on our timetable done for the day. (I have a video on my logbook if you’re interested in learning more about that!)

04. And 05. Popsicle sticks! Friends, if you’re already a CMEC family, use these to help you choose which activities you review! I have on these for old singing games, French songs, folk dances or Swedish drill routines. I’ll share more on what I have on ours, specifically, but it’s fun because the girls and I get to be surprised rather than me choosing what we review!

06. Art instruction. Originally I had us doing three art lessons per week in the afternoon, but it didn’t allow for enough free choice, so we’ve reduced it down to one formal lesson a week for six weeks, then we change the method. So right now we are in week two of our chalkdrawing lessons. After six weeks we will switch to brush drawing instruction for the remainder of the term! As Charlotte Mason recommends, we draw from memory, model, and from imagination. 🌞

I hope this was helpful to you! So many of you guys are using @the.cmec next year! I am SO excited to see all of you at the online form meetings this coming year! 👏🏻 #thecmec #thecmecform1 #charlottemason
Do you keep your spices in a cabinet, on a shelf o Do you keep your spices in a cabinet, on a shelf or in a drawer? This drawer is right next to my stove and it’s my favorite way to store my spices! I reuse these little jars and fill them every couple of weeks with my bulk @azurestandard spices. 🧂
Are you planting a garden this year? What are you Are you planting a garden this year? What are you growing? Containers and raised beds? Or in ground? What do you plan to grow? Veggies? Flowers? We are doing a little bit of everything. 😍

It’s my third year growing food. (And ironically, our third house 😅) We just got our @greenstalkgarden planter, several @smartpots, and six raised beds that are ready to be filled next weekend. Really looking forward to this gardening season! 🥕🥬🥦🌽🌶🫑🫐🍓🥔
“Let then once get in touch with nature and a ha “Let then once get in touch with nature and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life.” -Charlotte Mason 

My kiddo had a birthday this past weekend. We do one main gift and a couple of small gifts; typically they’re  things they can use outdoors. Bikes have been a popular birthday item around here! My eldest wanted an apple tree last year. ☺️ But this year we got N a mud kitchen! Some friends of ours had one they built, and it inspired us. My kiddos have been playing on the forest floor in the mud for years now, but it’s exciting for them to have a little space in our garden for mud play. 🌳 What are some fun outdoorsy gifts you’ve purchased for your kids?
📚 When should I teach my child to read? How sho 📚 When should I teach my child to read? How should I teach my child to read? What does Charlotte Mason say about reading lessons? How did she teach children how to read? What curriculum do you use to teach your child how to read? 📚
These are all questions I answered in my blog post and video, “teaching reading the Charlotte Mason way” 📚 you can also swipe over to see some of my favorite CM quotes on teaching reading! 📚

I also shared what I do with my 3-year-old (which is very minimal) if you have younger children. You can view the post at the link in my profile! Are you up children school-aged? What do you use to teach reading?
I needed to accomplish a lot today. There was more I needed to accomplish a lot today. There was more unpacking and organizing to be done, pictures to be framed, meal planning to do, laundry that needed folding, bike rides to be had, meals to be prepared, sourdough to be prepped and lesson planning + pre-reading to do. Oh and dishes. So many dishes. 😅

I do essentially all of the inside housework aside from taking out the trash + recycle, but for a season my husband helped out while N was small by doing dinner dishes and sometimes even preparing dinner so I could nurse her after we ate. But as of late, I’m trying something new where I don’t ask my husband to clean up after dinner and instead I do it myself. I don’t mind it, and since my girls are old enough to get their own pj’s on now, I’ve been doing dinner clean-up (as well as lunch and breakfast clean-up and prep!) before I head upstairs to tuck them in, read them a story and sit with them while they fall asleep. Call me old fashioned, but I’m happy to do it, and I delight in my husband being able to enjoy some time with the girls after dinner instead of clean up a mess after a long day of working.

I’m not really sure where I’m going with this post - I’ve felt pulled in so many directions today and it’s something I feel often, (and I’m sure so many of you can relate) but after five months without a home to care for and nurture I simply can’t feel frustrated or annoyed at my list of 10,000 things I need to do. Instead I pray my way through each task. I sip tea in between. I light a candle and wear my great-grandmother’s apron as I work. I read notes like the one my six-year-old left for me this morning and I weep tears of gratitude and joy. Happy Sunday, my friends. ❤️ 
.
(swipe to read her note 🥰 + a transcription in the comments!)
Remember that word we heard so often when we were Remember that word we heard so often when we were parenting infants? Attachment.  What comes to mind? Breastfeeding on demand. Co-sleeping. Babywearing. All of those things that come pretty natural to us when taking care of a baby. But did you know that attachment doesn’t just end when your child gets bigger? Attachment is actually necessary THROUGH adolescence. 😳

Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté is a brilliant book that stopped me in my tracks. The book addresses the severe lack of attachment to parents that is incidentally replaced by an attachment to peers. I wrote all about it on my blog, but if you swipe over you can see a few passages that I underlined, highlighted, and wrote down in my notebook. 

Peer culture is more prevalent than ever. Not only because our society now prefers it that way, but because of social media’s ability to unite our youth in an unprecedented way. What we need is a shift in how we pass down culture to our kids from a horizontal attachment (peer to peer) back to a vertical attachment (family to child). I’ve often felt this long before I read this book, but we prioritize our Children’s friendships and relationships with others before we prioritize their relationships with us. We don’t value the family unit the way we used to decades ago, and it’s to the detriment of our children. 

I will gift this book to every new parent I meet from now on because of the wisdom the authors share. I wish all parents would read it so we could be on the same page as a society and those of us who choose to hold on to our kids wouldn’t be going against the grain. So this is my plea to you. If anything I’ve said piqued your interest, or struck a chord, please read Hold On To Your Kids! ✨

(For those of you who have read it! Share your thoughts with us! Help me convince everyone to read it! 👏🏻)
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Uncategorized • June 16, 2014

#RealBloggerBeauty

Hi beautiful friends! Happy Sunday. I am here to share my story of #RealBloggerBeauty with you today. My dear blogger friend, Maya, had a genius idea to have bloggers and lovely young ladies share more about themselves and be transparent without having to live up to the expectations of a “perfect blogger life” and I must say I am pretty excited about sharing my own story. You can learn more about it and what you can do to share your story by clicking here.

I must say that I am not used to being so candid with strangers, let alone people I’ve known for years, so just be warned. also… my story WILL be a novel someday. It’s one of my life’s goals to write a memoir. I have just seen too many things to not write about them. So to be very straightforward before I start rambling, I will get right to the point: the most difficult thing about my life, and something I’m still learning how to cope with is the absence of a mother and father. I will say that I am fortunate to have very loving and caring grandparents who did the best they could to help, and a few friends who stepped in along the way. I am forever grateful for those who took part in helping me survive throughout my childhood.

Many times when I tell people that I didn’t grow up with a mother or father, they believe that they passed away, or something heroic/decent of that nature, but then I have to break the news to them… I will say that there was a very short time in my childhood where I felt loved, and felt normal, like I did have a real mom. This was for around the first 4-5 years of my life. Everything after that was chaos.

So, basically I am the eldest of seven children. Most of us have different fathers [though I never met mine, and I’ve never known or seen him], and we all share the same mother who was a very talented pianist and could have done so well for herself, but she was also very selfish. When life was too difficult, she gave in to her weakness of drug and alcohol addiction and unfortunately dragged my siblings and I through that journey during most of our childhood. We grew up living with her different boyfriends, and when she was between boyfriends we stayed with our grandparents or with friends who took us in. It was very difficult being the eldest, of course, because she was not present- even when she was with us, she didn’t ever really ‘take care’ of us. I knew more than any of my siblings what was happening when she was gone.

I have distinct memories of living in one room with my mom and all of my sisters for months at a time, and sometimes being kicked out of her boyfriends house and having to walk across the city carrying the belongings we could fit into our bags while walking to my grandma’s house, or anyone we knew who would take us in, for that matter. It was a very tough situation to cope with, especially as a child. Sometimes, she would take off and leave us at other people’s houses for weeks at a time. We were never told when she was coming back. My siblings and I woke up in many different people’s houses on the mornings of my birthday or Christmas and would have nothing there waiting for us, not even our parents – just some strangers who knew our mom through a friend, and of course, the reality of the situation we were forced to endure.

Anyway, there is a happy ending, guys, I promise! So this craziness lasted from when I was around 7 until I turned 14. We then moved somewhere veryyy far away from what I had called home, and that was the last straw for me. I was much too old to be dragged around from one disastrous house and relationship to another…It was time for me to get out. I turned 15 on December 23, and that next year, I moved out of my house and lived with a friend all throughout high school. Living in another families’ basement is a whole different experience, but it was a place to stay while I went to high school and worked as a waitress to save up money for college. I ended up getting accepted to a university and moved out of that friend’s house after graduating high school. It was a dream come true for me, and also a total nightmare to apply to colleges as an independent student [try not being able to put any parent information on your FAFSA!] I jumped through so many hoops to make it to and through college! Anyway, I graduated from school, where I met my husband, J. and I am now married, very happy, healthy, and most importantly lucky! As many of you know, I’m a teacher, so I get to work with students who are going through, or have been through similar situations. I get to help them and connect with them on an empathetic level, which is so precious to me.

I am so thankful for the many people that really helped me through my childhood and teenage years. They made it so that I could rise up out of the situation I was forced into and make something of myself. I will say that it was VERY difficult having to leave my younger siblings behind when I moved out of my house at 15, but luckily, most of them had fathers who took them in before I even left. I think they finally understand that my mother was very ill [from substance abuse] and was not capable of taking care of them like she should have. Those siblings are all doing very well, and I’m so proud of the beautiful young women they’ve become.

This #RealBloggerBeauty post has really given me the opportunity to be super transparent with you about who I am, what kind of woman I am, and what sorts of obstacles and challenges I’ve had to overcome. It isn’t easy to tell the whole world that you grew up with a drug addict mom, who basically never existed and absolutely no father. People hear those things and just feel bad for you without realizing the strength it took to endure things like that. I choose to focus on the positive. In my “about me” section on this blog, I say, I consider obstacles to be stepping stones… and I really do. Yes, I grew up with a messy childhood and an imperfect family, but I’m okay now! That’s the happy ending! I made it.

I really looking forward to seeing the obstacles, challenges, or hardships that you women have endured and overcome. You’re all beautiful in your own way. Our story only helps us become who we really are meant to be, and I’m so glad that I was able to share it with you today. Thanks, Maya, for thinking up this amazing idea. xoxo.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Real Blogger Beauty

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Comments

  1. Marta says

    June 16, 2014 at 7:19 am

    Hello from Spain: I liked reading the story of your life. You are very brave. You work very hard. Keep in touch

    Reply
  2. Live-Style20 says

    June 16, 2014 at 7:22 am

    pretty woman !! =]

    xoxo

    new post
    http://www.live-style20.blogspot.com

    Reply
  3. Brianna Rios says

    June 16, 2014 at 8:12 am

    Such a great post with a beautiful ending! I am lucky to have grown up with a family who was present and loving, but I greatly admire anyone who grew up in a rough childhood but worked to get themselves out and break the pattern. Thanks for sharing your story of strength and your happy ending 🙂

    Bri
    http://www.breezydaysblog.com

    Reply
  4. Hannah says

    June 16, 2014 at 8:20 am

    So brave of you to share your story. I'm sure there are plenty of people who really need to hear your happy ending 🙂 x

    Reply
  5. Marika says

    June 16, 2014 at 9:10 am

    You are avery beautiful and brave woman . Thanks for sharing your story anda your happy ending ! Kisses from italy

    Reply
  6. Elise Lotz says

    June 16, 2014 at 12:51 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing your story. It's beautiful to hear about a fabulous young woman such as yourself coming out on top after all of the trials and tribulations, all thanks to your dedication and belief in yourself. I know sharing this story will inspire others to look within themselves as it has myself. Sharing stories really helps bring us all together, and as a regular reader, I feel as though I know you on a much different level by simply taking a few minutes to read this. Thank you, brave girl!

    Reply
  7. Ginny MyNewFavoriteOutfit says

    June 16, 2014 at 1:05 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing your story! I love how you've overcome so much and didn't let these very difficult times keep you from creating the best life for yourself. I've has students in similar situations and not all are as a strong as you!

    Reply
  8. Morgan T says

    June 16, 2014 at 2:29 pm

    Holy Molies! I don't even know what to say…I stopped & started reading many times because my brain couldn't comprehend what you must have gone through. Thank you for your honesty and willingness to share your story. But as a teacher myself I thank you for all you are giving back…your are a true inspiration!

    Reply
  9. Amy {Cupcakes+Couture} says

    June 16, 2014 at 3:27 pm

    i'm really enjoying reading all the posts in maya's link up today! 🙂 you definitely shared much more than i personally felt comfortable with, so i really admire you for that. and as cheesy as the saying is, what doesn't kill us really does make us stronger, and makes us much more interesting and complex people too. xo

    Reply
  10. Jacy says

    June 16, 2014 at 4:06 pm

    You are absolutely wonderful! I can't even comprehend what a strong woman you are to conquer those obstacles with such grace, but it's so incredibly inspiring. I've never gone through anything like that, but your story touched my heart and I'm thankful to work in education now so to be closer to kids going through similar situations. Thank you so much for sharing your story! I'm sure it was rather scary to open up to strangers, but please know you have a friend in me and I cannot wait to meet you! xo

    Jacy

    Reply
  11. Suburban Style Challenge says

    June 16, 2014 at 4:26 pm

    I love that you took a not great situation and used it to power you through and make your dreams come true! So many aren't as driven or lucky. Thanks for sharing your story, and do please write a book! It sounds like it would be incredibly interesting!!

    Reply
  12. Rachel Lynne says

    June 16, 2014 at 4:42 pm

    Thank you for sharing your story. It takes a lot of courage to be so transparent, especially in this crazy blogging world. You are clearly an amazing, strong, smart and beautiful woman! I am so happy you are someone helping out children and helping them grow into strong, capable people!

    Reply
  13. Nikki Williams says

    June 16, 2014 at 4:46 pm

    thank you for sharing your story! you are truly an inspiration!

    xxoo,
    nikki

    http://www.dreaminneon.blogspot.com

    Reply
  14. Kira says

    June 16, 2014 at 4:52 pm

    Thank you so much Elle for sharing such an amazing story and how you over came those obstacles in your life. You truly are an amazing person!! I cried reading this because I can only imagine what it felt like growing up for you. Thank you once again for sharing! I will share my story on my blog sometime this week. It is truly inspiring to read about your favorite bloggers.

    Xoxo,
    Kira
    Keepingupwithkira.com

    Reply
  15. Eliseba says

    June 16, 2014 at 6:01 pm

    Thanks for sharing! You have such an inspirational story and I know it was probably not easy to open up about the struggles you've faced in life. I love that you are using your energy to teach young people 🙂

    ~Eliseba

    http://doodlesdoodads.wordpress.com/

    Reply
  16. 2 Girls in 2 Cities says

    June 16, 2014 at 6:10 pm

    Wow. What a story, and how brave you are to share and have overcome it yourself. It is a happy ending for where it all started! – J

    Reply
  17. Rachel says

    June 16, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    Thank you for sharing your story- you are so brave. It was wonderful to read 🙂

    Reply
  18. The CHIC Insomniac says

    June 16, 2014 at 10:29 pm

    Wow… Thanks for sharing 🙂

    The CHIC Insomniac

    Reply
  19. lauren @ la petite fashionista says

    June 17, 2014 at 1:19 am

    Wow, what a life journey! I never would have imagined that you've been on your own from such a young age + grew up with such a tough childhood! You're gorgeous inside + out, so thankful that things have worked out for you- you so deserve all the happiness in the world!

    Reply
  20. Miss.AishaLC says

    June 17, 2014 at 2:17 am

    Thanks for sharing your life story. WOW! I have dealt with abandonment issues with my parents but I could only imagine having to take care of myself and 6 other children. You are truly a rockstar and a blessing to many.

    xoxo Aisha @ truesoulandspirit

    Reply
  21. Jessica says

    June 17, 2014 at 2:46 am

    I can relate to this post in so many ways. I didn't grow up in the most stable environment and it's still something I struggle with to this day. It's amazing what you have overcome and I'm incredibly thankful that you shared your story with us!

    Reply
  22. Katie Wilkes says

    June 17, 2014 at 2:58 am

    So brave of you to share this! It's easy to look at someone and just see a pretty face, but we all have stories hidden inside, too, that shape who we are. I love this hashtag and look forward to checking out other bloggers who have posted! 🙂

    Reply
  23. Alice Warren says

    June 17, 2014 at 6:05 am

    Elle – You always seem so genuine in your posts and reading this just made me love your blog even more. Through all the adversities that you've been through, you come out as a stronger better person.

    Alice
    http://www.happinessatmidlife.com

    Reply
  24. Cole. says

    June 17, 2014 at 11:49 am

    This is beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply
  25. mary-katherine says

    June 17, 2014 at 1:53 pm

    elle i had no idea! what an amazing story of overcoming! you are so brave and truly beautiful!

    thank you so much for sharing so much of yourself!

    xo mk
    gold-hatted lover

    Reply
  26. Erica Zurawski says

    June 17, 2014 at 2:40 pm

    This was an inspired post, Elle. It takes a great woman to use her situation and her past to change other children's futures. Thank you for sharing!

    x,
    Erica

    Reply
  27. Mol C. Nichols says

    June 18, 2014 at 2:46 am

    Think you for sharing. It's so true that we see your beautiful pictures and rarely ever think of what Your life experience was or is. I'm glad you and your sisters are all doing well. Your hard work paid off, your students are lucky to have you.

    Reply
  28. Leah Behr says

    June 19, 2014 at 1:32 am

    I applaud your vulnerability. Not an easy story to tell! Sounds like you had a similar life to my nephews. My sister has been a drug user for as long as I can remember. She has a 21 year old that my parents raised, and a 10 and 11 year old that deserve a much better life than she is giving them… Thank you for sharing your story and I'm so glad to see that you made such an amazing life for yourself!

    EatPrayWearLove

    Reply
  29. My Rose Colored Shades says

    June 19, 2014 at 11:51 am

    Thank you for sharing your story. I can see how the obstacles and hardships you've endured have shaped you into the woman you are today. We've all had difficult periods in our lives and reading about your overcoming yours is encouraging and inspirational.

    Reply
  30. Leaving the Corner & Dipping My Toes says

    June 19, 2014 at 3:12 pm

    I actually read your post on vacation and made sure to mark it as unread on my feed, to be able to comment when I came back, thank you so much for sharing, it takes a lot to expose yourself like that and share such a personal part of your life, it's very encouraging and inspiring and I am sure we can all use an extra dose of that, to remind us that even in the darkest moments there is always a chance that things will turn up for the best. You are truly a nice and genuine person and you desreve all the good things that have come your way and the ones that are yet to come.

    Natalia

    Reply
  31. StyleDiaryByOsy Osehie says

    June 21, 2014 at 11:11 am

    Thanks for sharing Elle, so glad you are doing so well for yourself. This is a beautiful story and really inspiring.
    http://www.stylediarybyosy.blogspot.com

    Reply
  32. Elegance and Mommyhood says

    June 21, 2014 at 12:32 pm

    Elle, I have always loved your blog, your style and obviously you are very pretty. After reading this I appreciate the person you are even more. You are beautiful inside and out. And so strong too. Strong to share your sad story and difficult childhood you had. Strong to become who you are and rise up despite the many difficulties.

    I am so glad I read this. I just wrote my Real Blogger Beauty post today and would love for you to read it as well. Thanks so much.

    P.S. I am proud of you. =)

    Reply
  33. Heidi Knepper says

    June 23, 2014 at 6:04 pm

    Amazing and brave!!

    Reply
  34. Gina babybluemom.com says

    November 29, 2016 at 12:06 pm

    Love the honesty and I feel even more inspired to know that despite trials there are women out here who turned their lives completely around. Honestly, it's refreshing to know I'm not the only one who didn't live in a perfect home.

    Reply

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  1. #Mother'sPromise | Five Things I Want To Teach My Daughter - Living in Color says:
    February 17, 2017 at 7:29 am

    […] up about motherhood. As many of you know, I grew up without a mother (more about that in this post here) so becoming a mom, especially to a little girl, is something that I do not take for granted. […]

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I'm Larissa. A mama to daughters and wife to my college sweetheart. I am passionate about sustainable fashion, whole foods recipes, and Charlotte Mason home education. I also love being outdoors with my family. You can usually find me sporting a wide-brimmed hat, with a baby on my back.

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This week I’m writing + filming about a hallmark This week I’m writing + filming about a hallmark of the Charlotte Mason method: narration. Have you ever heard of it? What would you like to know? 

I’m focusing heavily on how we use narration in our homeschool, but if you have specific questions about it, I would love for you to 1. Take the poll in my stories, and 2. Ask any questions you may have about narration in the comments so that I can answer them in my video! ❤️
Happy Mother’s Day! I especially want to encoura Happy Mother’s Day! I especially want to encourage those who are intentionally making a better life for their children than what they may have experienced as kids. It is not easy to change the cycle, but it’s well worth the effort. 

In the words of Louisa May Alcott, “A woman's happiest kingdom is home, her highest honor is the art of ruling it not as a queen, but a wise wife and mother."
📚 We are moving right along with term three of 📚 We are moving right along with term three of our school year. Slow but steady, we will finish up mid June and I’ll begin prepping for next school year in July and August! 📚

Here’s some of my random old and new tips + what I’ve been doing to help keep organized with the CMEC. 

01. Keep a regular day for nature outings or field trips. We have two days a week where I intentionally plan a hike or museum visit, etc. One is usually at the middle of the week and the other is at the end. It offers great variety to our weeks.

02. Notebook! I have had the girls consistently notebook this year, and it’s been such a delight to go back and see my form 1b student’s progress! I have a video coming out about how we notebook and why you should try it very soon! 

03. To stay on track with our morning timetable I’ve been writing the time we end each lesson in my logbook. It’s really changed how productive I am in making sure we get everything on our timetable done for the day. (I have a video on my logbook if you’re interested in learning more about that!)

04. And 05. Popsicle sticks! Friends, if you’re already a CMEC family, use these to help you choose which activities you review! I have on these for old singing games, French songs, folk dances or Swedish drill routines. I’ll share more on what I have on ours, specifically, but it’s fun because the girls and I get to be surprised rather than me choosing what we review!

06. Art instruction. Originally I had us doing three art lessons per week in the afternoon, but it didn’t allow for enough free choice, so we’ve reduced it down to one formal lesson a week for six weeks, then we change the method. So right now we are in week two of our chalkdrawing lessons. After six weeks we will switch to brush drawing instruction for the remainder of the term! As Charlotte Mason recommends, we draw from memory, model, and from imagination. 🌞

I hope this was helpful to you! So many of you guys are using @the.cmec next year! I am SO excited to see all of you at the online form meetings this coming year! 👏🏻 #thecmec #thecmecform1 #charlottemason
Do you keep your spices in a cabinet, on a shelf o Do you keep your spices in a cabinet, on a shelf or in a drawer? This drawer is right next to my stove and it’s my favorite way to store my spices! I reuse these little jars and fill them every couple of weeks with my bulk @azurestandard spices. 🧂
Are you planting a garden this year? What are you Are you planting a garden this year? What are you growing? Containers and raised beds? Or in ground? What do you plan to grow? Veggies? Flowers? We are doing a little bit of everything. 😍

It’s my third year growing food. (And ironically, our third house 😅) We just got our @greenstalkgarden planter, several @smartpots, and six raised beds that are ready to be filled next weekend. Really looking forward to this gardening season! 🥕🥬🥦🌽🌶🫑🫐🍓🥔
“Let then once get in touch with nature and a ha “Let then once get in touch with nature and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life.” -Charlotte Mason 

My kiddo had a birthday this past weekend. We do one main gift and a couple of small gifts; typically they’re  things they can use outdoors. Bikes have been a popular birthday item around here! My eldest wanted an apple tree last year. ☺️ But this year we got N a mud kitchen! Some friends of ours had one they built, and it inspired us. My kiddos have been playing on the forest floor in the mud for years now, but it’s exciting for them to have a little space in our garden for mud play. 🌳 What are some fun outdoorsy gifts you’ve purchased for your kids?
📚 When should I teach my child to read? How sho 📚 When should I teach my child to read? How should I teach my child to read? What does Charlotte Mason say about reading lessons? How did she teach children how to read? What curriculum do you use to teach your child how to read? 📚
These are all questions I answered in my blog post and video, “teaching reading the Charlotte Mason way” 📚 you can also swipe over to see some of my favorite CM quotes on teaching reading! 📚

I also shared what I do with my 3-year-old (which is very minimal) if you have younger children. You can view the post at the link in my profile! Are you up children school-aged? What do you use to teach reading?
I needed to accomplish a lot today. There was more I needed to accomplish a lot today. There was more unpacking and organizing to be done, pictures to be framed, meal planning to do, laundry that needed folding, bike rides to be had, meals to be prepared, sourdough to be prepped and lesson planning + pre-reading to do. Oh and dishes. So many dishes. 😅

I do essentially all of the inside housework aside from taking out the trash + recycle, but for a season my husband helped out while N was small by doing dinner dishes and sometimes even preparing dinner so I could nurse her after we ate. But as of late, I’m trying something new where I don’t ask my husband to clean up after dinner and instead I do it myself. I don’t mind it, and since my girls are old enough to get their own pj’s on now, I’ve been doing dinner clean-up (as well as lunch and breakfast clean-up and prep!) before I head upstairs to tuck them in, read them a story and sit with them while they fall asleep. Call me old fashioned, but I’m happy to do it, and I delight in my husband being able to enjoy some time with the girls after dinner instead of clean up a mess after a long day of working.

I’m not really sure where I’m going with this post - I’ve felt pulled in so many directions today and it’s something I feel often, (and I’m sure so many of you can relate) but after five months without a home to care for and nurture I simply can’t feel frustrated or annoyed at my list of 10,000 things I need to do. Instead I pray my way through each task. I sip tea in between. I light a candle and wear my great-grandmother’s apron as I work. I read notes like the one my six-year-old left for me this morning and I weep tears of gratitude and joy. Happy Sunday, my friends. ❤️ 
.
(swipe to read her note 🥰 + a transcription in the comments!)
Remember that word we heard so often when we were Remember that word we heard so often when we were parenting infants? Attachment.  What comes to mind? Breastfeeding on demand. Co-sleeping. Babywearing. All of those things that come pretty natural to us when taking care of a baby. But did you know that attachment doesn’t just end when your child gets bigger? Attachment is actually necessary THROUGH adolescence. 😳

Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté is a brilliant book that stopped me in my tracks. The book addresses the severe lack of attachment to parents that is incidentally replaced by an attachment to peers. I wrote all about it on my blog, but if you swipe over you can see a few passages that I underlined, highlighted, and wrote down in my notebook. 

Peer culture is more prevalent than ever. Not only because our society now prefers it that way, but because of social media’s ability to unite our youth in an unprecedented way. What we need is a shift in how we pass down culture to our kids from a horizontal attachment (peer to peer) back to a vertical attachment (family to child). I’ve often felt this long before I read this book, but we prioritize our Children’s friendships and relationships with others before we prioritize their relationships with us. We don’t value the family unit the way we used to decades ago, and it’s to the detriment of our children. 

I will gift this book to every new parent I meet from now on because of the wisdom the authors share. I wish all parents would read it so we could be on the same page as a society and those of us who choose to hold on to our kids wouldn’t be going against the grain. So this is my plea to you. If anything I’ve said piqued your interest, or struck a chord, please read Hold On To Your Kids! ✨

(For those of you who have read it! Share your thoughts with us! Help me convince everyone to read it! 👏🏻)
I promised I would share how I teach foreign langu I promised I would share how I teach foreign language the Mason way✨

When my oldest (now 6) was younger we loved and used @theculturedkid but since beginning formal lessons we’ve switched to this wonderful book by @cherrydalepress. 

Mason recommends that students learn 5-6 new French words a day and that they use them frequently. She writes in Home Education, “…children should learn French orally, by listening to and repeating French words and phrases; that they should begin so early that the difference of the accent does not strike them, but they repeat the French word all the same as if it were English, and use it freely…” (p. 80) she then writes about how important it is to employ the use of French vocabulary words during time out-of-doors. My kids and I have taken this to heart, because it isn’t uncommon for us all to be walking along the hiking trail, singing our French folk songs together. It’s something I’ll remember that we do together for many years. 

The Cherrydale Press program allows the child to learn common phrases, orally, a bit at a time. Along the way, they learn common verbs and vocabulary. 

Each “series” lasts about 2 weeks.
So here is the process we go through in that time:

01. We practice and memorize the English phrases. 
Here’s an example: 
I take the book.
I open the book.
I close the book.
So we say the phrases as we ACT THEM OUT, which is crucial to this method of learning French and retaining it! It’s helped me tremendously as a non-native speaker.

02. We then learn the French verbs from those phrases in French: je prends, j’ouvre, and je ferme. We memorize how to say them and act them out!

03. We learn the whole thing in French as we act it out. 
Je prends le livre.
j’ouvre le livre.
je ferme le livre.

After my daughter can say/act them without error, on her own, we move on to the next series!

Thanks to The Living Page, I keep a French notebook where I record the phrases or words we learn! (That’s what I shared in my stories the other day!)

In addition to this program, we have two French folk songs, one French vocabulary song per term (we sing daily) and a story we listen to in French, thanks to @the.cmec and their support!

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