“‘The mother is qualified,’ says Pestalozzi, ‘and qualified by the Creator Himself, to become the principal agent in the development of her child; … and what is demanded of her is — a thinking love … God has given the child all the faculties of our nature, but the grant point remains undecided — how shall this heart, this head, these hands be employed? to whose service shall they be dedicated? A question to answer to which involves a futurity of happiness or misery to a life so dear to thee. Maternal love is the first agent in education.‘”
— Charlotte Mason, Home Education, pg. 2
After homeschooling for 7 years, the feeling of inadequacy still lingers in my heart. I ended each school year feeling defeated, not doing enough, and regretting of all the mistakes I have made. Interestingly, at this time of the year around, the Spirit has led me to offer in-person mentorship to a sweet friend of mine, who just finished her first year of homeschool, and was about to give up.
I have been there, in fact, I feel like I am traveling back to that barren land in my heart every year when we transition to a new school year. Motherhood is a rewarding, exciting, but at times, a lonely and discouraging calling. I need another voice than the Enemy’s to speak life to my heart and to pull me out of that pit. So I treasure these precious words from Mason dear to my heart: “the mother is qualified,” I repeat and affirm myself, again and again, whenever frustration and desperation creep into my heart.
Something magical happened as I poured out myself to this new homeschool mama. I realized that while I feel defeated year after year, I have in fact learned so much about home education that I can offer my personal experiences to others. The dream that went perpetually dormant in heart was suddenly revived – to write about our homeschool journey as a service to others and to God. Years ago I even had my entire website set up and pages written, without the courage nor motivation to ever write and my first post. So here it is, my humble advice to those are new to homeschool:
- Summer Planning: We started our first year of homeschool in March 2017 when I pulled my firstborn daughter out from her school, without much time for planning. But summer is truly the most important time for homeschool mamas. Over the years, I have learned that if I can get most of my prep work done in the summer, the rest of our school year will be smoother and mostly going on autopilot. Because once all the extra-curricular activities resume, I can barely find any time (nor energy) to sit still and get anything done!
- Read a Mentor: Summer is also a good time to read and learn about homeschooling. If you can find a mentor friend, or invest in personal consultation (A Delectation Education), or group mentoring (Sage Parnassus), that will be the best option. If not, decide on a book you would like to read and apply the principles to your homeschool in the coming year. If you are in the busy season of motherhood, I highly recommend you just pick one easy book to read: “A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning” by Karen Andreola. I got my copy back in 2017, and I still read it from time to time.
- Draft your family vision. Before you even order your books, spend some time to ponder on your vision for homeschool and your family in general. What family values/culture do you truly value and would like to cultivate? What do you want to instill in your children’s hearts? What do you want them to become? Your vision will drive the countless decisions you will need to make along this journey. It’s like your compass that steers you back on track so that you can eventually arrive at your destination.
- Plot out your school year. Then we will narrow down our planning to the upcoming school year. Print out these free Year In A Glance pages as you plot out your dream for the next 52 weeks. Remember that you only need to have 36 weeks of instruction in a school year. Most Charlotte Mason curricula divide the school year into three terms, each lasting 12 weeks. I usually start by marking the start and end dates of the school year, then decide how often and when I would like to take a break to go on a family vacation, to reflect on the previous term, etc. You can take a break as often as possible (or as needed). To me the school break is really for the mother-teacher. When I first started homeschooling, we used to take one week off for every 4 weeks. Then the next year we could keep going for 6 weeks. Now we can go for a whole term without burning out. You can see that homeschooling is all about transition and growth. It takes to find our rhythm and realize what matters to our family.
- Choose your curriculum. Every family’s dynamic is different, thus are our choices in books & things. Do you want to engage your kids with a lot of outside enrichment activities? Then choose an easy, open-and-go curriculum. If you are all in for diving deeper and equipping yourselves to provide a full Charlotte Mason education, then you need to set time aside for motherly education and preparation. No matter your choice, the most important thing is that you are involved in and enjoy home education.
- Choose your books. You have the permission to not read all books or do everything the curriculum tells you or check off every single box. Because “Children are born persons,” and you are the agent of their education who know their needs, strengths, and weaknesses. It takes practice, experience, and courage to choose books, that’s when a mentor/counselor will become very helpful.
- Term Planning: Again, you do not have to follow the pacing outlined in your curriculum. I suggest that you pre-read the books and estimate how many pages can be accomplished within the set amount of assigned class time. This year The CMEC has truly equipped me to make such good judgment.
- Weekly Planning, aka Time Table: This is the most tedious but critical task in homeschool planning. Decide what time your children should wake up, what time will be guarded for morning lessons, what outside activities we will commit next year. I find this practice extremely helpful to chart out when I can give my full attention to specific child(ren) so they know when I will help them. It also helps me to decide if I should let my children sign up for an activities.
- Create the mother-teacher’s time table: This practice of writing out our time table often helps me realize that we do not even have that much time to do all the things that I want to do. That’s when I need to say no to other less important things. It is also useful to create a time table just for the mother-teacher, to prioritize our own wellbeing (quiet time, nutrition, sleep, exercise, etc.) Nobody can keep going nor keep rushing to the next thing.
- Use a homeschool planner: I have noticed that even for mamas who do not use a paper planner, keeping one physically for all the homeschool planning will be extremely helpful in decluttering our mind and visualizing our plans. My favorite (and most affordable AND beautiful) option is from Our Cooper Nest, as I can print out the same digital PDF year after year. I particularly love The Mother’s Planner (undated), Term Planing In A Glance, and A Mother’s Glance. Each year I just get a new planner cover and print out free Year In A Glance pages.
No matter what season you are in, there is a way to get things done, and really enjoy doing them. Never give up too soon. God will refine you as you pour yourself over your children, year after year. This is going to be a beautiful journey as you say yes to this calling. “A mother is qualified … by the Creator Himself, … and what is demanded of her is —a thinking love.
