Thinking Love

On the Thinking Love podcast, we love to bust Charlotte Mason myths and in this episode we're taking on kindergarten. While we firmly believe in 'gentle and quiet early years', Charlotte Mason never said that kindergarten is wrong, harmful, or off-limits. Tune in for a helpful conversation about how to approach the education of our five and six year olds.

This episode is sponsored by the Wise Beginnings Summit. If you’re thinking about your child’s early years and laying a beautiful foundation for their future learning, you can purchase the Wise Beginnings Summit through our website. Featuring Amber O’Neil Johnston from Heritage Mom, we each share practical advice and encouragement for the early years - Charlotte Mason style! Find out more at thinkinglove.education/wisebeginnings.

And of course, don't forget to register for our new course, Education is a Life!

Amy and Leah are back for a new season of the Thinking Love Podcast. Our theme for the next few months is Charlotte Mason in the Real World because sometimes we struggle when our ideals meet our reality. To kick off this season, we are chatting about one of the most practical Charlotte Mason ideas: narration. Narration seems so simple, but it's not always straightforward, so we dig into what it is, why we are doing it, and how to help our kids if they are struggling.

The beta version of our new course, Education is a Life, starts on April 4th. Register now for a special discounted price!

Find show notes here: https://thinkinglove.education/2022/03/10/charlotte-mason-narration/

The word "joy" has a strong association with the Christmas season. The angels bring good tidings of great joy. One of the Advent candles represents joy. The word joy is often printed on decorations and Christmas cards! In this episode, Leah and Amy ask what joy really is, and how we can have more of it in our homeschools. We hope that this conclusion to our 'Art of Homeschooling' season encourages you to cultivate joy in your home this Advent and Christmas season.

Find the full show notes on the Thinking Love website. 

As homeschoolers, we often focus on what we do: the curriculum we use, the books we read, the co-ops we join. Charlotte Mason, however, reminds us that our children's most important lessons often have nothing to do with us. In this episode, we explore masterly inactivity - how the art of doing nothing allows atmosphere to play its part in the lives of our children.

For full show notes, visit: https://thinkinglove.education/2021/11/18/teaching-without-words/

Join Amy and Leah as they chat with Cindy Rollins about her new book, Morning Time: A Liturgy of Love. The conversations roams from what morning time is, how it fits into a Charlotte Mason homeschool, how morning time cultivates a family culture, and even what to do when your children try to sabotage your plans!

For full show-notes, visit https://thinkinglove.education/2021/11/04/morning-time/.

You can find Cindy, including information about her book and her Patreon, at https://morningtimeformoms.com. She is also a host on the Literary Life Podcast: https://theliterary.life.

Charlotte Mason wrote that "music is a necessary part of education." While she recommended that students learn to sing and play an instrument, at the core of Charlotte Mason music learning is enjoyment. That's right - the best thing we can do for our kids is to put on music and enjoy it with our kids.

In this conversation, Amy and Leah talk through the three main points of Charlotte Mason music, share some of their favorite resources for incorporating music into their homes, and divulge some of their favorite (silly) musical family pastimes.

For full show notes, please visit: https://thinkinglove.education/2021/10/21/charlotte-mason-homeschool-music/ 

Mentioned in the show:

Hoffman Academy (for piano lessons)

Clap for Classics

Singing Made Easy (affiliate link)

In this episode of Thinking Love, we are joined by Dallas Nachtigall from Bestowing the Brush to talk about the art of teaching homeschool art. Dallas has thrown herself into researching art instruction in Charlotte Mason's schools and, as an artist herself, now helps homeschool moms bring art instruction into their homes. We had a great conversation about teaching art Charlotte Mason style and how to keep a positive atmosphere around art in your home (especially if you don't count yourself as 'artistic').

Find full show notes here: https://thinkinglove.education/2021/10/07/teach-charlotte-mason-art/

Find Thinking Love Merch or register for our Habit Training Workshop here: https://thinkinglove.education/shop

A homeschool schedule can help us bring our big picture ideas into daily life, but that doesn't mean it's easy. In fact, bridging the gap between our plans and our reality might be one of the most challenging parts of homeschooling. In this episode, Leah and Amy discuss the art of scheduling a Charlotte Mason homeschool. How do you make plans that flex and adapt when you get hit with a curveball, whether it's dawdling over lessons or a toddler who needs some extra attention?

For full show notes: https://thinkinglove.education/2021/09/23/homeschool-schedule-real/

To learn about our habit training course, our early years summit, or to check out our Charlotte Mason inspired merch: https://thinkinglove.education/shop

In this season of the Thinking Love Podcast, Amy and Leah are talking about homeschooling as an art, beginning with what Charlotte Mason means when she says that we need a method, not a system. Join us for a conversation about the temptations of system-type thinking (and where that shows up), where we might want to use a system, and how to keep our homeschools making progress toward our long-term goals.

For full show notes: https://thinkinglove.education/2021/09/09/charlotte-mason-homeschooling-method/

To learn about our habit training course, our early years summit, or to check out our Charlotte Mason inspired merch: https://thinkinglove.education/shop

We close out our wisdom season with a conversation with Min Hwang talking about why Charlotte Mason's view of humility wasn't entirely complete, and what we can do to gain knowledge without pride. 

FInd out more about Life-Giving Motherhood (referral link).

Register the Wise Beginnings Summit!

Let's discuss geography, what it looks like in our homeschools,  and how it can help us to have wisdom about the wider world. 

In the second part of our interview with Karen Glass, we discuss Mrs. Glass's preferred method of reading Charlotte Mason's volumes, the importance of seeking out her principles, and a word of wisdom for young homeschooling moms. 

We talked to Karen Glass about principles and why it's important to draw them out of Charlotte Mason's volumes. She also told us about her new project, which we're so excited for! 

How do wisdom, knowledge, and facts all fit together? How are the goals of public education and homeschooling different? 

Amy and Leah discuss Charlotte Mason's volumes, plus other books about the philosophy or that reflect it. 

Amy and Leah talk to Crystin Morris of Delightfully Feasting about Bible lessons and wisdom. 

In our Wisdom season, Amy and Leah discuss what wisdom is and how to pursue it in our homeschools. Our first episode addresses, "What is wisdom?" 

When our children learn to decode the words in front of them, they aren't necessarily readers...yet. What can we do to support them from reading with support to reading independently? 

What is mother culture? This is not actually a term that Charlotte Mason used in her volumes, but Amy and I are getting down to its roots and meaning in this episode. It means so much more than "self care." 

A shocking answer to this question: yes, your homeschool child can get behind, but we have to be careful to whom we compare them.