February 10, 2025 • 35 mins
Are you curious about **Charlotte Mason homeschooling** and how to implement **living books, habit training, and nature study** into your homeschool? In this interview, Beth from *Little World Wanderers* shares her inspiring journey, practical homeschool tips, and how she creates engaging Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum
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Episode Transcript
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(01:50):
Hi.
Today we're here with Beth from Little World Wanderers.
.999Um, she's a Charlotte Mason homeschooling mom, blessed to be raising and learning alongside the two best kids, as she calls them, that she knows.
Um, she lives in Colorado, um, by the mountains, and, uh, where they can find beauty and inspiration and endless opportunities to explore and play.
(02:16):
.999Her journey into creating educational resources began in 2018, and, um, she started writing units for her then preschooler. 6 00:02:25,120.099 --> 00:02:32,610 What started as a personal project quickly grew into something more thanks to the encouragement of many of her friends. 7 00:02:34,249.999 --> 00:02:36,770 Over the years, her passion for this work has grown.
(02:36):
Deepened and her vision has expanded and her goal is to inspire and equip families to embrace a living and life giving education that nourishes both the mind and the soul, one that cultivates curiosity, wonder and joy for both.
Parents and children alike.
So with that, hello, Beth.
(02:57):
How are you today? I'm well.
How are you? Okay.
I just want to say thank you for coming on.
And, um, we're going to talk for a bit about about you and about what you do and, um, and I'd like to, um, yeah, start that by asking what, um, what can you share about the story behind the creation of Little World Wanderers.
(03:19):
Yeah, so my daughter and my son have a 6, almost a 6 year age gap.
They're 5 years, 8 months apart.
.999So when my daughter was little, we started homeschooling her.
She was around 2 and we decided that we were going to homeschool preschool, um, mostly because preschool is expensive and we were a single income family.
So I figured I could probably do it myself.
(03:42):
I have a background in education.
I'm a former teacher.
.999So I started homeschooling her and then about the time she turned three or four, we were pulling different books from the library and I was creating these activities to go along with these books.
.999So We would read a book and I would notice in the pages like, oh, they cooked this particular recipe, like we're gonna make that recipe this week and we're gonna do an art project based on this book. 24 00:04:07,999.999 --> 00:04:19,440 And I ended up cultivating this preschool experience for her around the same time I also found Charlotte Mason through a book my friend gave me for the children's sake.
(04:19):
And we started implementing aspects of a Charlotte Mason home in our preschool and kindergarten year when my son came home.
Um, But I was writing these units and I specifically tailored them to learning about the world we had.
I grew up military, so I was blessed to be able to travel.
(04:39):
.999I was born overseas. 29 00:04:41,539.999 --> 00:04:46,390 I've lived overseas and I have a huge heart for taking my children. 30 00:04:46,439.999 --> 00:04:48,190 Like, I would love to take my children to travel. 31 00:04:48,199.999 --> 00:04:59,220 We're planning our first trip this year, which is very, um, but my daughter also has a huge love of just learning and learning about people.
She cares about others.
(05:00):
She loves to know people's stories.
She, since she was little, she has always wanted to know about others and get to know them.
Um, So, we specifically spent years cultivating a rich, multicultural education for her.
And we would intentionally check out books on various cultures and countries.
(05:23):
.999And I started writing down all of the activities I was doing. 38 00:05:26,569.999 --> 00:05:35,775 And friends were asking for them, and they finally said like, Hey, you should maybe Publish this Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
You absolutely seem to have come to that in a quiet way kind of a thing.
It wasn't like, oh, I'm going to make a curriculum.
It just came to you as you were doing it, which is, which is really great because then it's all experience too, right? As you go on.
(05:49):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, so what I, oh, I, yeah.
I spent years developing this.
These unit studies and then, um, I released them on January 1st, 2020.
Um, and a couple months later, everybody was homeschooling and Little World Wanderers started to take off a little bit more.
(06:11):
Wow, that's amazing.
Um, so, so just, um, what inspired you to adopt the Charlotte Mason philosophy, besides the fact that your friend gave you that For Children's Sake book from Charlotte Mason? Like, what in it that made, made you want to make that a part of your homeschool? Yeah, so I, um, coming from a background in education, I kind of had this idea of what I thought school should look like.
(06:37):
.999Um, and ultimately, we felt like we were preparing our daughter to go to kindergarten.
.999So I, I got her very kindergarten ready. 52 00:06:47,235.001 --> 00:06:50,465 Like, she could have walked into the classroom and been perfectly fine.
And we About the time it came to enroll her in kindergarten, we felt like this was not the right decision for us.
.999Um, so I read for the children's sake and this the way that Charlotte Mason laid out education is an atmosphere discipline in a life that it isn't. 55 00:07:07,634.999 --> 00:07:08,835.001 We're not going for the.
(07:09):
You know, what do we know and quizzing based off what we know it's how much does the child care about what they know? And I looked back a lot on my own childhood.
.999And while I went to public school and private school, and I went to military schools overseas, um.
I was fortunate enough to be raised in a family where education, the continuing of education was a big deal.
(07:34):
.9So we did hikes in, you know, the English countryside and my parents took us to castles and museums and we learned different artists and.
We joked with my dad that he, um, he has never met a sign that he didn't read, so we would go to the zoo and there would be a sign about a giraffe, and it's like, Dad, you've seen a giraffe, like, you know a giraffe, but he's still going to read the sign, and our parents would take us to so many places, and then my dad would say, you're going to care that you were here one day, and they were I started reflecting on that when my daughter was young.
(08:11):
I was like, oh, I, I care now.
Like, yeah, maybe I didn't then, but I, I care now.
And I wanted to give my children an education that they cared about.
Um, and that, and then I read all of the other volumes and kind of just knew that this is what we wanted to do.
Yeah, it's amazing.
(08:31):
Like her whole program is amazing.
And everybody thinks, oh, she, she focuses more on reading, which she does, but this, it's way deeper than that.
Yeah.
Yeah. 70 00:08:42,564.999 --> 00:08:56,944.9 So, um, how did your personal education background influence you? Did it ever hinder you, you know, in a, in a way, or did it, it, do you think it helped you? Or it would be both.
(08:57):
I think both.
Um, so there are definitely hindrances to having a background in education.
I feel like I had to unlearn a lot of what I thought school should look like, especially in the elementary years. 74 00:09:09,44.999 --> 00:09:13,744.999 So I taught 5th grade and then I taught 3rd grade and my focus was on math and science. 75 00:09:14,184.999 --> 00:09:22,165 So I have this kind of idea, or I came up with this idea of like, what does a proof of learning actually look like? And.
(09:22):
In the school system, it does look like worksheets and tests and, you know, collaboration projects and group projects and things like that.
.999And in a Charlotte Mason home, proof of learning is going to look a lot like narration. 78 00:09:34,859.999 --> 00:09:39,860 It's that is your proof of learning is narration in the younger years.
The ways that it's helped me, though, is I do feel very confident in my ability to teach my child.
(09:47):
Um, I look at the time I spend investing and learning about Charlotte Mason as my own professional development, so I'm very willing to continue to learn and expand upon that. 81 00:09:57,489.999 --> 00:10:09,150 But I can also see that when there have been, you know, not necessarily red flags, but areas of deficit in her education, I have been able to address them rather quickly and then move forward.
(10:10):
Yeah, that's, that's really good as that because then you, um, like almost all of them, school moms can learn that.
And I don't want to come across as saying you need a teacher's education, but, um, but you definitely, um, would maybe be able to see those red flags quite quickly. 84 00:10:25,774.999 --> 00:10:26,744.999 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Children learning grow at their own pace.
And my son is kindergarten right now.
(10:31):
So the way that he is learning how to read looks very different than the way my daughter.
Is learning how to read, um, but I'm sure that there are going to be things that come up with him that I never, you know, had to deal with with her and I'm sure that there are things that I've had to manage with her that with him are going to be a non issue.
Oh, absolutely.
Like every child is an individual.
We actually had seven children, and we homeschooled all of them.
(10:53):
And, um, and they're all different, and they all learn differently, and they all were unique in their own way. 93 00:11:01,489.999 --> 00:11:12,385 And, um, when I was homeschooling, it was, uh, I was kind of like, um, yeah, it was kind of like in the dark because it wasn't something that was very familiar when I started.
So, um, yeah, it's just really interesting and cool for me to see how things have progressed through the years.
(11:19):
.999And there's so much to offer to all homeschool moms. 96 00:11:23,134.999 --> 00:11:23,534.999 Yeah.
So, yeah.
So for all those who are unfamiliar, um, can you explain the core principles of Charlotte Mason? Yeah, so the number, Charlotte Mason is breaking down into 20 principles and that everything that she writes and discusses and lectured and talks about, it's evident through all of her programs that she wrote for the PNAU, um, come down to these core 20 principles. 99 00:11:50,229.999 --> 00:11:51,930 And the first one is going to be that.
(11:52):
Children are born persons that they are unique individuals.
They are not these vessels to be filled with.
Um, they are coming into the world as their own person.
And our ultimate job is to, you know, honor and respect that personhood.
Um, and then she has said too about mothers.
(12:14):
I think it's in, um, parents and children that our first responsibility to our children is.
To point them to God that is our chief concern.
.9995So when you couple that with their personhood, like, this is what you're working towards is respecting this, you know, child of God who has been entrusted into your care. 108 00:12:33,359.9995 --> 00:12:39,570 And then she has other aspects of her philosophy and her principles that are broken down.
(12:39):
I'm narration is so important to the Charlotte Mason method that it actually takes up 2 or 3 of her principles.
.999And narration is just the art of telling back what you've heard or read, um, which sounds so simple, and it can be very simple, but it also can feel very difficult at times, um, so, and, and I think you have to, like, it's, it's genius in the sense that you have to know.
(13:04):
The concept behind it to actually narrate it.
.999Why? Yeah, I, um, when you look at, you know, my demographic or my age, who's grown up in the public school systems are, um, oh, goodness, I remember taking my 1st standardized test in school in 4th grade.
And I, I mean, this was the 1st time and.
(13:26):
We now test as low as when I was teaching, we were testing as low as 3rd grade and it was comprehension testing.
So it's read this passage, answer these questions, read this passage, answer these questions and.
When I was in school, our teacher brushed off the test of like, we're gonna show up for the next two days and take this, do your best, but like, it's not that big of a deal. 117 00:13:46,149.999 --> 00:13:50,949.999 Um, when I was teaching, the test was, it was a monumental deal.
(13:51):
Um, and getting away from that part of You need to, like, prove your learning by answering questions.
Narration does that.
It's te you're not specifically testing comprehension.
You're not gonna ask, like, in Paul Bunyan, what color was Babe? Like, maybe that's not the living idea that your child walks away from, but you can ask, tell me the story of how Paul Bunyan found Babe.
(14:18):
.999And Maybe they'll catch up or they'll tell you like, Oh, and Babe was blue because he was under the snow and Paul dug him out and like, But if you just asked what color was Babe, you lose the living idea or you lose the whole story. 123 00:14:33,174.999 --> 00:14:38,524.9 Or you're not really catching what your child is learning and caring about in that instance.
(14:39):
.999For sure, and like, such narration is also, I think, personally, that narration is a precursor to, like, writing, also.
Oh, for sure.
Right? Like, it's like when you have said something, It's, it's clear in your mind, and then you can write it down, or you could even write it down for them to begin with, but at least they've narrated it to you, and they have, um, a sense of accomplishment there already.
(15:05):
Yeah, yeah. 128 00:15:06,319.999 --> 00:15:07,240 Yeah, yeah. 129 00:15:07,240.1 --> 00:15:15,920 We started, um, dictated narrations in first grade, so once a week, my child would dictate a narration to me, and I would write it down, and then she would draw a picture.
So I have this notebook of hers when she was, like, teeny tiny, filled with all of these adorable drawings, and now she's She's a fifth grader, so she is required to do a written narration a day.
(15:26):
Um, and that will eventually work its way into composition, but then we do element, there are elements to support the written narration, copy work, dictation, all of those things are going to help her, you know, understand the grammar and syntax and spelling in order to have a good written narration. 132 00:15:41,295.1 --> 00:15:45,845 Yeah, so what grade is she in now then? So she's in 5th grade.
(15:46):
Oh, 5th grade, yeah. 134 00:15:47,105.1 --> 00:15:58,554.9995 Yeah, I think to that, that habit of beginning in grade one, and then it can just be built on those pathways can be built in the brain where it can be built on. 135 00:15:58,554.9995 --> 00:16:03,435 And that's, yeah, that's, I think, the beauty of that whole narration story.
So, yeah, it's so funny with her, because when she was in 1st grade, like, we were, I was like, we are going to start narration and.
(16:10):
It was hard for her at first.
.9995She has grown into a, I mean, she can beautifully narrate most things we, of course, we have a book or two every once in a while where it's just like, she'll come up to me. 139 00:16:22,534.9995 --> 00:16:23,325 She goes, I don't know.
It's like, yeah, you know, that happens to me too. 141 00:16:26,574.999 --> 00:16:27,384.999 Yeah, sure.
.999Let's extend some grace, but my son who's in fact, or he's kindergarten, he's not even compulsory schooling. 143 00:16:34,814.999 --> 00:16:37,394.999 He will come up to me and he's like, let me tell you my narration.
(16:38):
.999Or he will listen in on a book that I'm reading to my, so last year, he was even, he was four last year and we're reading Oliver Twist and he will, he would look at my daughter and goes, and you forgot the part where Fagin, it's just like, you're good.
I don't even have to teach you how to narrate. 146 00:16:54,459.999 --> 00:16:55,369.9 This is just like.
(16:58):
More than likely, he's also watched his sister do it a lot, so that probably helps his situation too, yeah.
.999Um, yeah, so how do you integrate living books into your curriculum? Oh, I, honestly, I don't even think it's an integration. 149 00:17:12,119.999 --> 00:17:14,510 It is the core of what we do.
.999Um, and I, I do think that there is some subjectivity to living books. 151 00:17:19,149.999 --> 00:17:31,945 What is, Living for one person may not be living for another and I talk about this with friends a lot because I have had books from like, I understand the merit of this book, the value of this book. 152 00:17:31,974.999 --> 00:17:40,315 It is well written, but like, I, I'm going to finish it, but it's just not the book for me.
(17:40):
And it doesn't mean that it isn't good.
.9So with Oliver Twist, my daughter really struggled with Oliver Twist last year and it is, yeah.
It is a, I believe that Oliver Twist is a living book.
It offers living ideas.
Um, but it's hard.
And at one point she came up to me and she goes, I just want something good to happen.
(18:00):
.999I get it. 160 00:18:01,354.999 --> 00:18:03,304.999 She goes, this is not a good book. 161 00:18:03,564.999 --> 00:18:11,165 And we talked about that and I go, why isn't it a good book? And she's like, because Oliver is just, and she went into all of these things that has happened to Oliver.
.999And I was like, But you feel something for him, like Dickens made you feel, like you feel empathy for this little boy who existed a couple hundred years ago. 163 00:18:21,699.999 --> 00:18:24,440 He's fictional, I'm like, your heart is breaking for him. 164 00:18:24,949.999 --> 00:18:26,464.9 And so we talk about that.
(18:28):
Living books are, like, our homeschool just wouldn't exist if we didn't do living books.
Yeah, for sure, yeah.
Yeah, no, that's great.
.999Yeah, so I'm going to pivot a bit.
What is, what is the role, because you said you live in the beautiful mountains of Colorado. 170 00:18:42,674.999 --> 00:18:44,995 Um, I'm from Ontario. 171 00:18:45,544.999 --> 00:18:46,174.999 Oh, okay.
Canada, so yeah, um, I'm not even in the U.
S.,
(18:48):
but I do love mountains.
Um, but, so what does the role of nature study play in your homeschooling routine? Oh, goodness.
So we, um, we try to do nature journaling every week.
.999Um, we, when it is not, you know, it was negative six last week.
Nobody went outside. 179 00:19:06,14.999 --> 00:19:09,384.9995 Um, we attempt to get out for nature walks. 180 00:19:09,384.9995 --> 00:19:12,265 We actually have a duck pond really close by to us.
(19:12):
So we've been walking to the duck pond, you know, once a week or so.
For years, we've been in our house for 6 years, so I can't even I could if I have like a pencil and paper, I can multiply that out and tell you how many times we've likely visited that hunt. 183 00:19:27,609.999 --> 00:19:32,569.999 Um, but a big part of nature study for us is our.
(19:32):
You know, my children just they notice nature, they are fine tuned to just see it.
Um, we put up some new bird feeders right now and we've, you know, in a single morning, we might notice eight different species of birds. 186 00:19:47,799.999 --> 00:19:49,689.999 My son can name and my daughter can name.
Um, but my husband and my daughter went skiing last weekend and they, they came across a porcupine.
(19:57):
Really? Yeah, he had climbed a tree and he was eating the, the pine needles and like had snow all over his face and they took a video but they, they saw this porcupine and they kind of like noticed it and then they looped back and did the same run again and like stopped and took pictures and videos and then my daughter came home and she told me all about this porcupine and then she wrote it in her nature journal and drew a picture in her nature journal and like Read in a we've read the Burgess animal book.
(20:24):
So she knew about porcupines and all of the same.
It's just nature study for us.
Um, can be very intentional like with the bird feeders and we, you know, we're paying attention to the birds and we're noting them and making a bird list or it's organic and we're out on a hike and we see an elk and we, you know, look at elk tracks or.
(20:46):
Yeah, yeah, that's actually kind of cool.
I wonder what, I didn't know, actually realize that the porcupine would be around in the snow.
So that's what, yeah, kind of interesting.
Yeah, I've never seen one before.
.999I knew that they lived here, but like I've never seen them before.
Oh, okay.
Yeah, so one time when we were like quite a few years ago when our kids were still small, we had um, Uh, one of, two, we had two dogs and a porcupine, they got into a porcupine and they, they came home and they had porcupines all over their noses, like something, yeah.
(21:18):
.999So I guess we have them quite a bit here, like in Ontario, yeah.
So, um, so do you, um, how do you approach habit training with your children? Like, um, everyone likes to hear about how you habit train within your family and how do you do that from, Charlotte Mason perspective.
I just read about habit training this morning and I will be entirely honest and say all of our habits went out the window in December.
(21:42):
So between my daughter is in ballet.
So she danced in the Nutcracker and then we had 2 grandparent visits and Christmas and then we all got the flu.
So it's like there is not a scrap of habit to be found in our home and it is.
It's honestly a little painful getting back into it, um, for my own sake, because, you know, it requires so much attention on the mother's part, um, so Charlotte Mason, in what I just read, and I can narrate to you, she said that, um, There are habits that we do have to pay very close attention to, and when we notice a child has a, a habit, like a, a poor habit that needs to be addressed, that child should be under the constant care and supervision of their mother.
(22:28):
Um, and she says even up to a month, and her case for this is, if the child were ill, the mother would take that time to nurture them.
So we look at some habits, like the one that she references, cruelty.
And it's like, if the child is being cruel to animals or a younger sibling, like, we would look at that as a moral deficit, that we don't want them to grow up to be a cruel person, so we do need to address it.
(22:56):
.999And they are to bask under the constant glow of their mother.
And I can say that, like, when we are training a habit, I don't feel like constantly glowing in order for them to bask in it. 211 00:23:10,704.999 --> 00:23:11,264.999 Um.
.9995For this age, it is a lot of like repetition, pick up your shoes, where do you, I say, where do your shoes live 5 to 35 times a day, whenever they walk through the door, where do your shoes live? And they know go put your shoes away. 213 00:23:29,359.9995 --> 00:23:33,139.999 And that is addressing like, we're doing the habit of cleanliness.
(23:33):
.999When we're doing the habit of attention, and this is one that like my children do very well with the habit of attention during school, but that also extends to like the home, like you have looked at and noticed.
.9995That you have left your socks here, and they need to be put away, like, you can notice that, you know, perhaps the dishes could be tidied or something, um, so at this age with a five, with a five year old in particular, I'm, I tried very hard not to pay attention to All of the things like we need to fix all of the things it's what is the one habit that we are working on right now like we are working on putting your shoes away and that's what that that's the habit I'm focused on and, you know, or we're if we're focusing on, um, I don't even know how I could classify it. 216 00:24:27,664.9995 --> 00:24:32,030 But like, let's say he stomps his foot at me, I asked him to be some character.
(24:32):
Yeah.
Yeah, like, like respect.
Yeah, that is the habit I'm focusing on.
.999So I'm not going to like nitpick this 1 and 15 other different things.
We're just going to lay down the rails of this. 222 00:24:46,144.999 --> 00:24:48,695 So when I say, please go put this away.
I, you know, I get an okay, mom or like, yes, mom, instead of stomp your foot and grown at me.
(24:57):
Yeah, exactly.
And I think that's yeah, no, but that's like, that's the point. 226 00:25:02,144.999 --> 00:25:06,604.999 I think, too, right? Like, we do want them to learn those things, but we also.
.9995I want them to do it respectfully and that's, that's difficult and, um, I have a friend who had a son who she, you know, it was something she did. 228 00:25:15,54.9995 --> 00:25:16,885 It was just kind of a cute story.
She, um, she had, he had to hang up his towel after his shower.
(25:21):
She had eight children.
.999She had to hang up his towel, his towel every time. 232 00:25:24,824.999 --> 00:25:25,244.999 He did. 233 00:25:25,684.999 --> 00:25:29,055 And she said the night before he got married, he did not hang up his towel.
So, so she said, okay, I'm done.
And she did it herself. 236 00:25:36,520.1 --> 00:25:40,399.9 Go ahead.
So I think, you know, in that sense, like, even in those situations, grace is so important to like, and teaching the characters, maybe.
(25:51):
.9995It's not, it's more important, and it hopefully will come to that, but not always does it, right? Like, sometimes I find with my own kids, too, once they got married, their houses were perfect, but the room was never perfect here. 239 00:26:02,29.9995 --> 00:26:06,120 So, you know, you did teach them, but it took longer for it to, yeah. 240 00:26:06,989.999 --> 00:26:10,930 And Charlotte Mason would say, too, like, you want to give them a single living item.
(26:11):
On which to, you know, address and connect with, and that will help instill the habit.
.999And that's not to say that we're going to moralize this habit, but when my daughter was little, um, We read a book called Daisy Come Here, and it's about a duck.
And the mama duck tells Daisy, the baby duck, like, Don't swim out into the pond, you need to stay in the little bushes, or the hawk will get you.
(26:36):
And Daisy like paddles out further and comes back and the mom continues to tell her, like, don't stay like, you know, don't go into the pond.
The hawk will get you while Daisy goes into the pond and a hawk swoops down and almost catches Daisy and she brushes back to her mama.
And my daughter was probably four and she's like.
Oh, I guess that's why you stay close to your mom.
(26:57):
She learned something.
She learned from that. 250 00:26:59,535.1 --> 00:27:01,114.9 Yes.
.999So even, I mean, you can read fairy tales and fairy tales without moralizing them, without like drilling at home to your children of saying like, and that is why you should always pick up your shoes.
Like, you know, you can just, yeah, some living ideas that may or may not connect.
(27:17):
Yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, um, so we have, um, maybe 5 to 10 more minutes, and I'd like you to talk to us about your programs and your studies and, um, maybe your, a mother's education program, its objectives, um, what can participants expect, and, um, and how does it differ from other curriculums that you know? Like, tell us about it.
(27:41):
Yeah, so a mother's education is based off of the Charlotte Mason Mother's Education Program.
So she actually held very high expectations of mothers.
.999Um, and you can see that through the volumes. 261 00:27:56,149.999 --> 00:28:03,880 One of the quotes that is often said is, if the mother could do for herself what she does for her children, she would have a happier household.
(28:03):
And it says, let the mother go out to play.
.999It's interesting to me that in the immediate sentences following, she says, like, a mother should go out into the field for half a day with a book or an art museum for a day or things like these, the joy of a living education for a mom.
So, Charlotte Mason did have a mother's education program with the PNAU and she would have mothers write in their narrations and she put together a book list.
(28:32):
.999Um, so about three.
Two or three years ago, three years ago, I released A Mother's Education and I basically took all of the subjects of what the expectations for a Charlotte Mason educated child and bumped up that rigor for an adult. 267 00:28:51,830.001 --> 00:29:00,789.999 So the first volume addresses poetry and classical literature and fiction, science, history.
(29:01):
Um, mythology, fairy tales, like all of these different areas and my hope for it was that moms who either wanted to grow their own education outside of what they were doing with their children, or moms who were interested in the Charlotte Mason, but like, wanted to try it themselves to see what does this actually do.
(29:21):
I'm.
would be able to do that.
So I've deviated over the last two years and I've started adding seasonal programs.
And every season is a brand new book list.
.999None of the books have been repeated across any of the programs.
And we read six books.
So the spring season will start in our first zoom call will be in April.
(29:43):
Um, And we will be reading through six books together, and it covers nature study, poetry, history, science.
Um, there's a biography this term, or the next term, and then every other week we meet on Zoom and we discuss one of the books. 278 00:30:01,304.999 --> 00:30:14,025 We share our own narrations, we share our commonplace journals, we talk about the handicrafts we've been working on, and just really take this Charlotte Mason education and bring it down, like, bring it into our own lives very intentionally.
(30:15):
Yeah, that's great.
So where could a mother get a hold of, um, of all that, like even the Zoom calls and the unit studies and the books and where, where could we send a mom to, to find that? So on my website, littleworldwanderers. 281 00:30:31,359.999 --> 00:30:35,080 com, I have a section called units, and then there is another section in there.
(30:35):
Called a mother's education.
So the only program that will have zoom calls is the one we are currently doing.
So we are currently doing winter.
And then I have 2 specifically liturgical studies, 1 for advent and 1 for lent that I lead every year.
So the Lenten study actually releases February 14th, and we will, we will be reading through 6 books, but they are very specifically tailored through walking the 40 days prior to Lent.
(31:05):
Um, and so that will have.
Zoom calls, and then our current winter study has the Zoom calls.
.999Um, so whatever season it's in, and then once you purchase the program, you have access to the full book list, and then I send out emails to, if you aren't able to make it to the call, I send out the Zoom recordings.
Um, yeah. 291 00:31:26,994.999 --> 00:31:27,654.999 Yeah, that's good.
(31:28):
Yeah.
Um, so what would you, can you share us, can you share a success story from yourself, fam, your family, or from another family from using Zoom? Your resources.
Yeah, so I, I, I have heard multiple times from. 295 00:31:45,975.0625 --> 00:32:01,745.0625 from mothers that using a mother's education to them has breathed so much renewed life into how they homeschool, not just because they're, you know, they're doing these beautiful, wonderful things for their children. 296 00:32:01,755.0615 --> 00:32:06,185.0625 And you can, you don't have to, you know, specifically purchase a unit. 297 00:32:06,195.0625 --> 00:32:14,505.0625 You could add a book of poetry for your own sake, but just taking that time when you have young children and nurturing this aspect of. 298 00:32:15,120.0625 --> 00:32:17,570.0625 Your own living education. 299 00:32:17,870.0625 --> 00:32:23,120.0625 I've heard time and time again from moms that this has been just such a life giving thing. 300 00:32:23,810.0625 --> 00:32:29,340.0625 Um, and then the other units I write for kindergarten and preschool and math and all of that. 301 00:32:29,370.0625 --> 00:32:34,530.0615 I, I hear over and over from families how much they just, they love and enjoy it. 302 00:32:35,765.0625 --> 00:32:50,395.0625 It really, I, I try to write things, I write first for my own children, so the kindergarten program and the preschool programs that I have, I wrote for my son, the math history program I just released, like, I wrote that for my daughter, and it just so happens that other families. 303 00:32:52,5.0625 --> 00:32:55,35.0625 So, I think they love it as much as my own kids. 304 00:32:55,235.0625 --> 00:32:55,575.0625 Yes. 305 00:32:56,215.0625 --> 00:32:56,655.0625 Yes. 306 00:32:57,55.0625 --> 00:32:58,235.0625 Um, okay. 307 00:32:58,235.0625 --> 00:33:14,465.0625 So, what would be one thing that you would tell homeschool moms everywhere? What advice, encouragement, um, or success you would, can offer to homeschool moms everywhere? A word from you. 308 00:33:14,525.0625 --> 00:33:15,505.0625 Just a word from you. 309 00:33:16,15.0625 --> 00:33:21,424.9625 Yeah, um, I think it's very easy to second guess and overthink it. 310 00:33:21,875.0625 --> 00:33:32,235.0625 And I always tell moms, especially newer moms, considering homeschool to approach it very prayerfully and make sure that you're not coming from a place of fear. 311 00:33:32,285.0625 --> 00:33:36,735.0625 Homeschooling from a place of fear can be, it can be detrimental to your homeschool. 312 00:33:37,445.0625 --> 00:33:42,505.0615 So make sure that you have explored the options. 313 00:33:42,555.0615 --> 00:33:49,825.0625 Charlotte Mason, I believe, is a wonderful, beautiful philosophy and we are so grateful to implement it in our home. 314 00:33:50,395.0625 --> 00:33:50,865.0625 Bye. 315 00:33:51,365.0625 --> 00:33:54,365.0625 Your child, if you're considering homeschool, might not. 316 00:33:55,685.0625 --> 00:34:05,424.9625 You may not agree with this writing, and that's okay, you can find other aspects, um, but just be very prayerful in the way you approach homeschool. 317 00:34:05,705.0625 --> 00:34:06,305.0625 I love that. 318 00:34:06,315.0615 --> 00:34:06,955.0625 I love that. 319 00:34:06,975.0625 --> 00:34:09,425.0625 It's a beautiful note to end on. 320 00:34:09,825.0625 --> 00:34:13,75.0615 So, um, yeah, I want to thank you very much for being with us today. 321 00:34:13,85.0615 --> 00:34:18,305.0625 And I think that I've, this is what I would like to convey. 322 00:34:18,615.0625 --> 00:34:21,635.0625 I just want to wholeheartedly advocate that. 323 00:34:22,125.0625 --> 00:34:26,85.0625 They should go in and check you out because it sounds like you've got a lot to offer. 324 00:34:26,595.0625 --> 00:34:27,295.0625 Thank you. 325 00:34:27,525.0625 --> 00:34:29,405.0625 Thank you very much for coming today.
Hi.
Today we're here with Beth from Little World Wanderers.
.999Um, she's a Charlotte Mason homeschooling mom, blessed to be raising and learning alongside the two best kids, as she calls them, that she knows.
Um, she lives in Colorado, um, by the mountains, and, uh, where they can find beauty and inspiration and endless opportunities to explore and play.
(02:16):
.999Her journey into creating educational resources began in 2018, and, um, she started writing units for her then preschooler. 6 00:02:25,120.099 --> 00:02:32,610 What started as a personal project quickly grew into something more thanks to the encouragement of many of her friends. 7 00:02:34,249.999 --> 00:02:36,770 Over the years, her passion for this work has grown.
(02:36):
Deepened and her vision has expanded and her goal is to inspire and equip families to embrace a living and life giving education that nourishes both the mind and the soul, one that cultivates curiosity, wonder and joy for both.
Parents and children alike.
So with that, hello, Beth.
(02:57):
How are you today? I'm well.
How are you? Okay.
I just want to say thank you for coming on.
And, um, we're going to talk for a bit about about you and about what you do and, um, and I'd like to, um, yeah, start that by asking what, um, what can you share about the story behind the creation of Little World Wanderers.
(03:19):
Yeah, so my daughter and my son have a 6, almost a 6 year age gap.
They're 5 years, 8 months apart.
.999So when my daughter was little, we started homeschooling her.
She was around 2 and we decided that we were going to homeschool preschool, um, mostly because preschool is expensive and we were a single income family.
So I figured I could probably do it myself.
(03:42):
I have a background in education.
I'm a former teacher.
.999So I started homeschooling her and then about the time she turned three or four, we were pulling different books from the library and I was creating these activities to go along with these books.
.999So We would read a book and I would notice in the pages like, oh, they cooked this particular recipe, like we're gonna make that recipe this week and we're gonna do an art project based on this book. 24 00:04:07,999.999 --> 00:04:19,440 And I ended up cultivating this preschool experience for her around the same time I also found Charlotte Mason through a book my friend gave me for the children's sake.
(04:19):
And we started implementing aspects of a Charlotte Mason home in our preschool and kindergarten year when my son came home.
Um, But I was writing these units and I specifically tailored them to learning about the world we had.
I grew up military, so I was blessed to be able to travel.
(04:39):
.999I was born overseas. 29 00:04:41,539.999 --> 00:04:46,390 I've lived overseas and I have a huge heart for taking my children. 30 00:04:46,439.999 --> 00:04:48,190 Like, I would love to take my children to travel. 31 00:04:48,199.999 --> 00:04:59,220 We're planning our first trip this year, which is very, um, but my daughter also has a huge love of just learning and learning about people.
She cares about others.
(05:00):
She loves to know people's stories.
She, since she was little, she has always wanted to know about others and get to know them.
Um, So, we specifically spent years cultivating a rich, multicultural education for her.
And we would intentionally check out books on various cultures and countries.
(05:23):
.999And I started writing down all of the activities I was doing. 38 00:05:26,569.999 --> 00:05:35,775 And friends were asking for them, and they finally said like, Hey, you should maybe Publish this Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
You absolutely seem to have come to that in a quiet way kind of a thing.
It wasn't like, oh, I'm going to make a curriculum.
It just came to you as you were doing it, which is, which is really great because then it's all experience too, right? As you go on.
(05:49):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, so what I, oh, I, yeah.
I spent years developing this.
These unit studies and then, um, I released them on January 1st, 2020.
Um, and a couple months later, everybody was homeschooling and Little World Wanderers started to take off a little bit more.
(06:11):
Wow, that's amazing.
Um, so, so just, um, what inspired you to adopt the Charlotte Mason philosophy, besides the fact that your friend gave you that For Children's Sake book from Charlotte Mason? Like, what in it that made, made you want to make that a part of your homeschool? Yeah, so I, um, coming from a background in education, I kind of had this idea of what I thought school should look like.
(06:37):
.999Um, and ultimately, we felt like we were preparing our daughter to go to kindergarten.
.999So I, I got her very kindergarten ready. 52 00:06:47,235.001 --> 00:06:50,465 Like, she could have walked into the classroom and been perfectly fine.
And we About the time it came to enroll her in kindergarten, we felt like this was not the right decision for us.
.999Um, so I read for the children's sake and this the way that Charlotte Mason laid out education is an atmosphere discipline in a life that it isn't. 55 00:07:07,634.999 --> 00:07:08,835.001 We're not going for the.
(07:09):
You know, what do we know and quizzing based off what we know it's how much does the child care about what they know? And I looked back a lot on my own childhood.
.999And while I went to public school and private school, and I went to military schools overseas, um.
I was fortunate enough to be raised in a family where education, the continuing of education was a big deal.
(07:34):
.9So we did hikes in, you know, the English countryside and my parents took us to castles and museums and we learned different artists and.
We joked with my dad that he, um, he has never met a sign that he didn't read, so we would go to the zoo and there would be a sign about a giraffe, and it's like, Dad, you've seen a giraffe, like, you know a giraffe, but he's still going to read the sign, and our parents would take us to so many places, and then my dad would say, you're going to care that you were here one day, and they were I started reflecting on that when my daughter was young.
(08:11):
I was like, oh, I, I care now.
Like, yeah, maybe I didn't then, but I, I care now.
And I wanted to give my children an education that they cared about.
Um, and that, and then I read all of the other volumes and kind of just knew that this is what we wanted to do.
Yeah, it's amazing.
(08:31):
Like her whole program is amazing.
And everybody thinks, oh, she, she focuses more on reading, which she does, but this, it's way deeper than that.
Yeah.
Yeah. 70 00:08:42,564.999 --> 00:08:56,944.9 So, um, how did your personal education background influence you? Did it ever hinder you, you know, in a, in a way, or did it, it, do you think it helped you? Or it would be both.
(08:57):
I think both.
Um, so there are definitely hindrances to having a background in education.
I feel like I had to unlearn a lot of what I thought school should look like, especially in the elementary years. 74 00:09:09,44.999 --> 00:09:13,744.999 So I taught 5th grade and then I taught 3rd grade and my focus was on math and science. 75 00:09:14,184.999 --> 00:09:22,165 So I have this kind of idea, or I came up with this idea of like, what does a proof of learning actually look like? And.
(09:22):
In the school system, it does look like worksheets and tests and, you know, collaboration projects and group projects and things like that.
.999And in a Charlotte Mason home, proof of learning is going to look a lot like narration. 78 00:09:34,859.999 --> 00:09:39,860 It's that is your proof of learning is narration in the younger years.
The ways that it's helped me, though, is I do feel very confident in my ability to teach my child.
(09:47):
Um, I look at the time I spend investing and learning about Charlotte Mason as my own professional development, so I'm very willing to continue to learn and expand upon that. 81 00:09:57,489.999 --> 00:10:09,150 But I can also see that when there have been, you know, not necessarily red flags, but areas of deficit in her education, I have been able to address them rather quickly and then move forward.
(10:10):
Yeah, that's, that's really good as that because then you, um, like almost all of them, school moms can learn that.
And I don't want to come across as saying you need a teacher's education, but, um, but you definitely, um, would maybe be able to see those red flags quite quickly. 84 00:10:25,774.999 --> 00:10:26,744.999 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Children learning grow at their own pace.
And my son is kindergarten right now.
(10:31):
So the way that he is learning how to read looks very different than the way my daughter.
Is learning how to read, um, but I'm sure that there are going to be things that come up with him that I never, you know, had to deal with with her and I'm sure that there are things that I've had to manage with her that with him are going to be a non issue.
Oh, absolutely.
Like every child is an individual.
We actually had seven children, and we homeschooled all of them.
(10:53):
And, um, and they're all different, and they all learn differently, and they all were unique in their own way. 93 00:11:01,489.999 --> 00:11:12,385 And, um, when I was homeschooling, it was, uh, I was kind of like, um, yeah, it was kind of like in the dark because it wasn't something that was very familiar when I started.
So, um, yeah, it's just really interesting and cool for me to see how things have progressed through the years.
(11:19):
.999And there's so much to offer to all homeschool moms. 96 00:11:23,134.999 --> 00:11:23,534.999 Yeah.
So, yeah.
So for all those who are unfamiliar, um, can you explain the core principles of Charlotte Mason? Yeah, so the number, Charlotte Mason is breaking down into 20 principles and that everything that she writes and discusses and lectured and talks about, it's evident through all of her programs that she wrote for the PNAU, um, come down to these core 20 principles. 99 00:11:50,229.999 --> 00:11:51,930 And the first one is going to be that.
(11:52):
Children are born persons that they are unique individuals.
They are not these vessels to be filled with.
Um, they are coming into the world as their own person.
And our ultimate job is to, you know, honor and respect that personhood.
Um, and then she has said too about mothers.
(12:14):
I think it's in, um, parents and children that our first responsibility to our children is.
To point them to God that is our chief concern.
.9995So when you couple that with their personhood, like, this is what you're working towards is respecting this, you know, child of God who has been entrusted into your care. 108 00:12:33,359.9995 --> 00:12:39,570 And then she has other aspects of her philosophy and her principles that are broken down.
(12:39):
I'm narration is so important to the Charlotte Mason method that it actually takes up 2 or 3 of her principles.
.999And narration is just the art of telling back what you've heard or read, um, which sounds so simple, and it can be very simple, but it also can feel very difficult at times, um, so, and, and I think you have to, like, it's, it's genius in the sense that you have to know.
(13:04):
The concept behind it to actually narrate it.
.999Why? Yeah, I, um, when you look at, you know, my demographic or my age, who's grown up in the public school systems are, um, oh, goodness, I remember taking my 1st standardized test in school in 4th grade.
And I, I mean, this was the 1st time and.
(13:26):
We now test as low as when I was teaching, we were testing as low as 3rd grade and it was comprehension testing.
So it's read this passage, answer these questions, read this passage, answer these questions and.
When I was in school, our teacher brushed off the test of like, we're gonna show up for the next two days and take this, do your best, but like, it's not that big of a deal. 117 00:13:46,149.999 --> 00:13:50,949.999 Um, when I was teaching, the test was, it was a monumental deal.
(13:51):
Um, and getting away from that part of You need to, like, prove your learning by answering questions.
Narration does that.
It's te you're not specifically testing comprehension.
You're not gonna ask, like, in Paul Bunyan, what color was Babe? Like, maybe that's not the living idea that your child walks away from, but you can ask, tell me the story of how Paul Bunyan found Babe.
(14:18):
.999And Maybe they'll catch up or they'll tell you like, Oh, and Babe was blue because he was under the snow and Paul dug him out and like, But if you just asked what color was Babe, you lose the living idea or you lose the whole story. 123 00:14:33,174.999 --> 00:14:38,524.9 Or you're not really catching what your child is learning and caring about in that instance.
(14:39):
.999For sure, and like, such narration is also, I think, personally, that narration is a precursor to, like, writing, also.
Oh, for sure.
Right? Like, it's like when you have said something, It's, it's clear in your mind, and then you can write it down, or you could even write it down for them to begin with, but at least they've narrated it to you, and they have, um, a sense of accomplishment there already.
(15:05):
Yeah, yeah. 128 00:15:06,319.999 --> 00:15:07,240 Yeah, yeah. 129 00:15:07,240.1 --> 00:15:15,920 We started, um, dictated narrations in first grade, so once a week, my child would dictate a narration to me, and I would write it down, and then she would draw a picture.
So I have this notebook of hers when she was, like, teeny tiny, filled with all of these adorable drawings, and now she's She's a fifth grader, so she is required to do a written narration a day.
(15:26):
Um, and that will eventually work its way into composition, but then we do element, there are elements to support the written narration, copy work, dictation, all of those things are going to help her, you know, understand the grammar and syntax and spelling in order to have a good written narration. 132 00:15:41,295.1 --> 00:15:45,845 Yeah, so what grade is she in now then? So she's in 5th grade.
(15:46):
Oh, 5th grade, yeah. 134 00:15:47,105.1 --> 00:15:58,554.9995 Yeah, I think to that, that habit of beginning in grade one, and then it can just be built on those pathways can be built in the brain where it can be built on. 135 00:15:58,554.9995 --> 00:16:03,435 And that's, yeah, that's, I think, the beauty of that whole narration story.
So, yeah, it's so funny with her, because when she was in 1st grade, like, we were, I was like, we are going to start narration and.
(16:10):
It was hard for her at first.
.9995She has grown into a, I mean, she can beautifully narrate most things we, of course, we have a book or two every once in a while where it's just like, she'll come up to me. 139 00:16:22,534.9995 --> 00:16:23,325 She goes, I don't know.
It's like, yeah, you know, that happens to me too. 141 00:16:26,574.999 --> 00:16:27,384.999 Yeah, sure.
.999Let's extend some grace, but my son who's in fact, or he's kindergarten, he's not even compulsory schooling. 143 00:16:34,814.999 --> 00:16:37,394.999 He will come up to me and he's like, let me tell you my narration.
(16:38):
.999Or he will listen in on a book that I'm reading to my, so last year, he was even, he was four last year and we're reading Oliver Twist and he will, he would look at my daughter and goes, and you forgot the part where Fagin, it's just like, you're good.
I don't even have to teach you how to narrate. 146 00:16:54,459.999 --> 00:16:55,369.9 This is just like.
(16:58):
More than likely, he's also watched his sister do it a lot, so that probably helps his situation too, yeah.
.999Um, yeah, so how do you integrate living books into your curriculum? Oh, I, honestly, I don't even think it's an integration. 149 00:17:12,119.999 --> 00:17:14,510 It is the core of what we do.
.999Um, and I, I do think that there is some subjectivity to living books. 151 00:17:19,149.999 --> 00:17:31,945 What is, Living for one person may not be living for another and I talk about this with friends a lot because I have had books from like, I understand the merit of this book, the value of this book. 152 00:17:31,974.999 --> 00:17:40,315 It is well written, but like, I, I'm going to finish it, but it's just not the book for me.
(17:40):
And it doesn't mean that it isn't good.
.9So with Oliver Twist, my daughter really struggled with Oliver Twist last year and it is, yeah.
It is a, I believe that Oliver Twist is a living book.
It offers living ideas.
Um, but it's hard.
And at one point she came up to me and she goes, I just want something good to happen.
(18:00):
.999I get it. 160 00:18:01,354.999 --> 00:18:03,304.999 She goes, this is not a good book. 161 00:18:03,564.999 --> 00:18:11,165 And we talked about that and I go, why isn't it a good book? And she's like, because Oliver is just, and she went into all of these things that has happened to Oliver.
.999And I was like, But you feel something for him, like Dickens made you feel, like you feel empathy for this little boy who existed a couple hundred years ago. 163 00:18:21,699.999 --> 00:18:24,440 He's fictional, I'm like, your heart is breaking for him. 164 00:18:24,949.999 --> 00:18:26,464.9 And so we talk about that.
(18:28):
Living books are, like, our homeschool just wouldn't exist if we didn't do living books.
Yeah, for sure, yeah.
Yeah, no, that's great.
.999Yeah, so I'm going to pivot a bit.
What is, what is the role, because you said you live in the beautiful mountains of Colorado. 170 00:18:42,674.999 --> 00:18:44,995 Um, I'm from Ontario. 171 00:18:45,544.999 --> 00:18:46,174.999 Oh, okay.
Canada, so yeah, um, I'm not even in the U.
S.,
(18:48):
but I do love mountains.
Um, but, so what does the role of nature study play in your homeschooling routine? Oh, goodness.
So we, um, we try to do nature journaling every week.
.999Um, we, when it is not, you know, it was negative six last week.
Nobody went outside. 179 00:19:06,14.999 --> 00:19:09,384.9995 Um, we attempt to get out for nature walks. 180 00:19:09,384.9995 --> 00:19:12,265 We actually have a duck pond really close by to us.
(19:12):
So we've been walking to the duck pond, you know, once a week or so.
For years, we've been in our house for 6 years, so I can't even I could if I have like a pencil and paper, I can multiply that out and tell you how many times we've likely visited that hunt. 183 00:19:27,609.999 --> 00:19:32,569.999 Um, but a big part of nature study for us is our.
(19:32):
You know, my children just they notice nature, they are fine tuned to just see it.
Um, we put up some new bird feeders right now and we've, you know, in a single morning, we might notice eight different species of birds. 186 00:19:47,799.999 --> 00:19:49,689.999 My son can name and my daughter can name.
Um, but my husband and my daughter went skiing last weekend and they, they came across a porcupine.
(19:57):
Really? Yeah, he had climbed a tree and he was eating the, the pine needles and like had snow all over his face and they took a video but they, they saw this porcupine and they kind of like noticed it and then they looped back and did the same run again and like stopped and took pictures and videos and then my daughter came home and she told me all about this porcupine and then she wrote it in her nature journal and drew a picture in her nature journal and like Read in a we've read the Burgess animal book.
(20:24):
So she knew about porcupines and all of the same.
It's just nature study for us.
Um, can be very intentional like with the bird feeders and we, you know, we're paying attention to the birds and we're noting them and making a bird list or it's organic and we're out on a hike and we see an elk and we, you know, look at elk tracks or.
(20:46):
Yeah, yeah, that's actually kind of cool.
I wonder what, I didn't know, actually realize that the porcupine would be around in the snow.
So that's what, yeah, kind of interesting.
Yeah, I've never seen one before.
.999I knew that they lived here, but like I've never seen them before.
Oh, okay.
Yeah, so one time when we were like quite a few years ago when our kids were still small, we had um, Uh, one of, two, we had two dogs and a porcupine, they got into a porcupine and they, they came home and they had porcupines all over their noses, like something, yeah.
(21:18):
.999So I guess we have them quite a bit here, like in Ontario, yeah.
So, um, so do you, um, how do you approach habit training with your children? Like, um, everyone likes to hear about how you habit train within your family and how do you do that from, Charlotte Mason perspective.
I just read about habit training this morning and I will be entirely honest and say all of our habits went out the window in December.
(21:42):
So between my daughter is in ballet.
So she danced in the Nutcracker and then we had 2 grandparent visits and Christmas and then we all got the flu.
So it's like there is not a scrap of habit to be found in our home and it is.
It's honestly a little painful getting back into it, um, for my own sake, because, you know, it requires so much attention on the mother's part, um, so Charlotte Mason, in what I just read, and I can narrate to you, she said that, um, There are habits that we do have to pay very close attention to, and when we notice a child has a, a habit, like a, a poor habit that needs to be addressed, that child should be under the constant care and supervision of their mother.
(22:28):
Um, and she says even up to a month, and her case for this is, if the child were ill, the mother would take that time to nurture them.
So we look at some habits, like the one that she references, cruelty.
And it's like, if the child is being cruel to animals or a younger sibling, like, we would look at that as a moral deficit, that we don't want them to grow up to be a cruel person, so we do need to address it.
(22:56):
.999And they are to bask under the constant glow of their mother.
And I can say that, like, when we are training a habit, I don't feel like constantly glowing in order for them to bask in it. 211 00:23:10,704.999 --> 00:23:11,264.999 Um.
.9995For this age, it is a lot of like repetition, pick up your shoes, where do you, I say, where do your shoes live 5 to 35 times a day, whenever they walk through the door, where do your shoes live? And they know go put your shoes away. 213 00:23:29,359.9995 --> 00:23:33,139.999 And that is addressing like, we're doing the habit of cleanliness.
(23:33):
.999When we're doing the habit of attention, and this is one that like my children do very well with the habit of attention during school, but that also extends to like the home, like you have looked at and noticed.
.9995That you have left your socks here, and they need to be put away, like, you can notice that, you know, perhaps the dishes could be tidied or something, um, so at this age with a five, with a five year old in particular, I'm, I tried very hard not to pay attention to All of the things like we need to fix all of the things it's what is the one habit that we are working on right now like we are working on putting your shoes away and that's what that that's the habit I'm focused on and, you know, or we're if we're focusing on, um, I don't even know how I could classify it. 216 00:24:27,664.9995 --> 00:24:32,030 But like, let's say he stomps his foot at me, I asked him to be some character.
(24:32):
Yeah.
Yeah, like, like respect.
Yeah, that is the habit I'm focusing on.
.999So I'm not going to like nitpick this 1 and 15 other different things.
We're just going to lay down the rails of this. 222 00:24:46,144.999 --> 00:24:48,695 So when I say, please go put this away.
I, you know, I get an okay, mom or like, yes, mom, instead of stomp your foot and grown at me.
(24:57):
Yeah, exactly.
And I think that's yeah, no, but that's like, that's the point. 226 00:25:02,144.999 --> 00:25:06,604.999 I think, too, right? Like, we do want them to learn those things, but we also.
.9995I want them to do it respectfully and that's, that's difficult and, um, I have a friend who had a son who she, you know, it was something she did. 228 00:25:15,54.9995 --> 00:25:16,885 It was just kind of a cute story.
She, um, she had, he had to hang up his towel after his shower.
(25:21):
She had eight children.
.999She had to hang up his towel, his towel every time. 232 00:25:24,824.999 --> 00:25:25,244.999 He did. 233 00:25:25,684.999 --> 00:25:29,055 And she said the night before he got married, he did not hang up his towel.
So, so she said, okay, I'm done.
And she did it herself. 236 00:25:36,520.1 --> 00:25:40,399.9 Go ahead.
So I think, you know, in that sense, like, even in those situations, grace is so important to like, and teaching the characters, maybe.
(25:51):
.9995It's not, it's more important, and it hopefully will come to that, but not always does it, right? Like, sometimes I find with my own kids, too, once they got married, their houses were perfect, but the room was never perfect here. 239 00:26:02,29.9995 --> 00:26:06,120 So, you know, you did teach them, but it took longer for it to, yeah. 240 00:26:06,989.999 --> 00:26:10,930 And Charlotte Mason would say, too, like, you want to give them a single living item.
(26:11):
On which to, you know, address and connect with, and that will help instill the habit.
.999And that's not to say that we're going to moralize this habit, but when my daughter was little, um, We read a book called Daisy Come Here, and it's about a duck.
And the mama duck tells Daisy, the baby duck, like, Don't swim out into the pond, you need to stay in the little bushes, or the hawk will get you.
(26:36):
And Daisy like paddles out further and comes back and the mom continues to tell her, like, don't stay like, you know, don't go into the pond.
The hawk will get you while Daisy goes into the pond and a hawk swoops down and almost catches Daisy and she brushes back to her mama.
And my daughter was probably four and she's like.
Oh, I guess that's why you stay close to your mom.
(26:57):
She learned something.
She learned from that. 250 00:26:59,535.1 --> 00:27:01,114.9 Yes.
.999So even, I mean, you can read fairy tales and fairy tales without moralizing them, without like drilling at home to your children of saying like, and that is why you should always pick up your shoes.
Like, you know, you can just, yeah, some living ideas that may or may not connect.
(27:17):
Yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, um, so we have, um, maybe 5 to 10 more minutes, and I'd like you to talk to us about your programs and your studies and, um, maybe your, a mother's education program, its objectives, um, what can participants expect, and, um, and how does it differ from other curriculums that you know? Like, tell us about it.
(27:41):
Yeah, so a mother's education is based off of the Charlotte Mason Mother's Education Program.
So she actually held very high expectations of mothers.
.999Um, and you can see that through the volumes. 261 00:27:56,149.999 --> 00:28:03,880 One of the quotes that is often said is, if the mother could do for herself what she does for her children, she would have a happier household.
(28:03):
And it says, let the mother go out to play.
.999It's interesting to me that in the immediate sentences following, she says, like, a mother should go out into the field for half a day with a book or an art museum for a day or things like these, the joy of a living education for a mom.
So, Charlotte Mason did have a mother's education program with the PNAU and she would have mothers write in their narrations and she put together a book list.
(28:32):
.999Um, so about three.
Two or three years ago, three years ago, I released A Mother's Education and I basically took all of the subjects of what the expectations for a Charlotte Mason educated child and bumped up that rigor for an adult. 267 00:28:51,830.001 --> 00:29:00,789.999 So the first volume addresses poetry and classical literature and fiction, science, history.
(29:01):
Um, mythology, fairy tales, like all of these different areas and my hope for it was that moms who either wanted to grow their own education outside of what they were doing with their children, or moms who were interested in the Charlotte Mason, but like, wanted to try it themselves to see what does this actually do.
(29:21):
I'm.
would be able to do that.
So I've deviated over the last two years and I've started adding seasonal programs.
And every season is a brand new book list.
.999None of the books have been repeated across any of the programs.
And we read six books.
So the spring season will start in our first zoom call will be in April.
(29:43):
Um, And we will be reading through six books together, and it covers nature study, poetry, history, science.
Um, there's a biography this term, or the next term, and then every other week we meet on Zoom and we discuss one of the books. 278 00:30:01,304.999 --> 00:30:14,025 We share our own narrations, we share our commonplace journals, we talk about the handicrafts we've been working on, and just really take this Charlotte Mason education and bring it down, like, bring it into our own lives very intentionally.
(30:15):
Yeah, that's great.
So where could a mother get a hold of, um, of all that, like even the Zoom calls and the unit studies and the books and where, where could we send a mom to, to find that? So on my website, littleworldwanderers. 281 00:30:31,359.999 --> 00:30:35,080 com, I have a section called units, and then there is another section in there.
(30:35):
Called a mother's education.
So the only program that will have zoom calls is the one we are currently doing.
So we are currently doing winter.
And then I have 2 specifically liturgical studies, 1 for advent and 1 for lent that I lead every year.
So the Lenten study actually releases February 14th, and we will, we will be reading through 6 books, but they are very specifically tailored through walking the 40 days prior to Lent.
(31:05):
Um, and so that will have.
Zoom calls, and then our current winter study has the Zoom calls.
.999Um, so whatever season it's in, and then once you purchase the program, you have access to the full book list, and then I send out emails to, if you aren't able to make it to the call, I send out the Zoom recordings.
Um, yeah. 291 00:31:26,994.999 --> 00:31:27,654.999 Yeah, that's good.
(31:28):
Yeah.
Um, so what would you, can you share us, can you share a success story from yourself, fam, your family, or from another family from using Zoom? Your resources.
Yeah, so I, I, I have heard multiple times from. 295 00:31:45,975.0625 --> 00:32:01,745.0625 from mothers that using a mother's education to them has breathed so much renewed life into how they homeschool, not just because they're, you know, they're doing these beautiful, wonderful things for their children. 296 00:32:01,755.0615 --> 00:32:06,185.0625 And you can, you don't have to, you know, specifically purchase a unit. 297 00:32:06,195.0625 --> 00:32:14,505.0625 You could add a book of poetry for your own sake, but just taking that time when you have young children and nurturing this aspect of. 298 00:32:15,120.0625 --> 00:32:17,570.0625 Your own living education. 299 00:32:17,870.0625 --> 00:32:23,120.0625 I've heard time and time again from moms that this has been just such a life giving thing. 300 00:32:23,810.0625 --> 00:32:29,340.0625 Um, and then the other units I write for kindergarten and preschool and math and all of that. 301 00:32:29,370.0625 --> 00:32:34,530.0615 I, I hear over and over from families how much they just, they love and enjoy it. 302 00:32:35,765.0625 --> 00:32:50,395.0625 It really, I, I try to write things, I write first for my own children, so the kindergarten program and the preschool programs that I have, I wrote for my son, the math history program I just released, like, I wrote that for my daughter, and it just so happens that other families. 303 00:32:52,5.0625 --> 00:32:55,35.0625 So, I think they love it as much as my own kids. 304 00:32:55,235.0625 --> 00:32:55,575.0625 Yes. 305 00:32:56,215.0625 --> 00:32:56,655.0625 Yes. 306 00:32:57,55.0625 --> 00:32:58,235.0625 Um, okay. 307 00:32:58,235.0625 --> 00:33:14,465.0625 So, what would be one thing that you would tell homeschool moms everywhere? What advice, encouragement, um, or success you would, can offer to homeschool moms everywhere? A word from you. 308 00:33:14,525.0625 --> 00:33:15,505.0625 Just a word from you. 309 00:33:16,15.0625 --> 00:33:21,424.9625 Yeah, um, I think it's very easy to second guess and overthink it. 310 00:33:21,875.0625 --> 00:33:32,235.0625 And I always tell moms, especially newer moms, considering homeschool to approach it very prayerfully and make sure that you're not coming from a place of fear. 311 00:33:32,285.0625 --> 00:33:36,735.0625 Homeschooling from a place of fear can be, it can be detrimental to your homeschool. 312 00:33:37,445.0625 --> 00:33:42,505.0615 So make sure that you have explored the options. 313 00:33:42,555.0615 --> 00:33:49,825.0625 Charlotte Mason, I believe, is a wonderful, beautiful philosophy and we are so grateful to implement it in our home. 314 00:33:50,395.0625 --> 00:33:50,865.0625 Bye. 315 00:33:51,365.0625 --> 00:33:54,365.0625 Your child, if you're considering homeschool, might not. 316 00:33:55,685.0625 --> 00:34:05,424.9625 You may not agree with this writing, and that's okay, you can find other aspects, um, but just be very prayerful in the way you approach homeschool. 317 00:34:05,705.0625 --> 00:34:06,305.0625 I love that. 318 00:34:06,315.0615 --> 00:34:06,955.0625 I love that. 319 00:34:06,975.0625 --> 00:34:09,425.0625 It's a beautiful note to end on. 320 00:34:09,825.0625 --> 00:34:13,75.0615 So, um, yeah, I want to thank you very much for being with us today. 321 00:34:13,85.0615 --> 00:34:18,305.0625 And I think that I've, this is what I would like to convey. 322 00:34:18,615.0625 --> 00:34:21,635.0625 I just want to wholeheartedly advocate that. 323 00:34:22,125.0625 --> 00:34:26,85.0625 They should go in and check you out because it sounds like you've got a lot to offer. 324 00:34:26,595.0625 --> 00:34:27,295.0625 Thank you. 325 00:34:27,525.0625 --> 00:34:29,405.0625 Thank you very much for coming today.
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