A couple of new resources have been added to the list at the bottom of this post. 6-14-17 Here is a list of handcraft suggestions from the PNEU Curriculum: gardening sewing knitting Scouts paper folding charity work woodcarving cooking embroidery weaving woodwork clay modeling Here are some additional suggestions: flower arranging flower press pottery origami Zentangle scrapbooking photography calligraphy card/notecard/bookmark creations jewelry making quilting model kits kno

What are the most important skills which should make up the education of the early years? Most people will quickly answer, "Reading, writing and math are critical to the education of a young child." What skills are needed in order to accomplish some proficiency in these areas and which skills are needed for the most important skill of all? What is the most important skill over all of the others? The most important skill for young children to learn is how to learn. Everything

I spent some time studying some samples from Charlotte Mason's curriculum for years 1-12. I used both the PNEU samples from Ambleside Online and the PNEU lists from Charlotte's Daughters. My goal was to focus on the changes made with each year to better understand the framework she used in constructing her curriculum. I thought that I would share my list of points here: Years 1-12 studied Bible and Religion but Years 1-3 contained a heavier focus on moral stories such as thos

Narration: Various Meanings Narration: This one word is significant to those who are educators. A narration has different meanings for different education methods and styles. A narration which follows the Well-Trained Mind approach is based on the idea that a child should summarize a selection by restating its main points and by differentiating between irrelevant vs. important details. A narration which follows the Charlotte Mason approach is based on the idea that a child sh

What should we look for in a book for young children? What makes one book a living book over another? What is a living book? Read this post as answer to the latter two question: Living Books: What Are they and Why Are They Important? The former question might be answered in this post. Young children most often begin their entry into the world of reading through picture books and other story books. It is through these books that they become introduced to the idea that books ca

What Are Living Books? Charlotte Mason refers to living books often and gives us ideas of what she means by this label. A living book is one complete work generally written by one author. The author relays his subject with the beauty of words that only one who is an expert in his field, or who has a great passion for the subject, can do. There are certainly exceptions to the general idea that the book is written by one author. A living book would be a true literary creation t

This curriculum is designed with the idea that the majority of the literature will be read aloud by the teacher for at least the first three years. However, unlike other curricula modeled after the teachings of Charlotte Mason, I have made a very concerted effort to include some books which will be accessible to these younger children. These books allow the children to read them on their own, yet still maintain literary quality. Each year, the literature was thoughtfully sele