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Homeschooled boy working with habit of perfect execution

The Habit of Perfect Execution: Instilling a Spirit of Excellence

The habit of perfect execution. Sounds intimidating, and perhaps a bit elusive. But what exactly is it?  It’s simply requiring our children to always do their best work.  That’s it. Charlotte Mason tells us, “’Throw perfection into all you do’ is a counsel upon which a family may be brought up with great advantage.”  EXCELLENCE This seems like a tall order. But Ms. Mason’s idea of requiring “perfection” does not mean instilling in our children a “spirit of perfection” but rather a “spirit of excellence” and a habit of completion in all they do.  And if we go about it in […]

homeschool girls practicing the habit of attention

The Habit of Attention: A Homeschool Mom’s Gift

The habit of attention is one of the most critical habits a homeschool mom can train—and one of the greatest gifts she can give. Why is this particular habit so important and so impactful?  Charlotte Mason tells us that all our children’s intellectual gifts—their natural intelligence and comprehension during learning and in life—depend completely on the cultivation of this habit.  It makes sense.  No matter how intelligent, if your children can’t focus long enough to truly learn and digest information, they won’t be able to use their brain to its full capacity.  And we all wish and hope for our children to reach their full potential.  Charlotte […]

little girl training the habit of truthfulness

Training the Habit of Truthfulness

When the right idea or thought is planted in the garden of a child’s soul, with the ever present help of the Divine Life—the Holy Spirit—that idea begins to influence a child’s thoughts and decisions.  Those decisions then become actions. Those actions then become habits. Those habits then become character.  I love how Ralph Waldo Emerson says it: “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” SOWING IDEAS To train a habit, we must sow ideas. […]

A woman with a child is reading

How to Train Your Child’s Character – The Charlotte Mason Way!

Training your child’s character can be likened to tending a garden. Nurturing to life the good character qualities you want to see grow and blossom. It’s about watching over what’s sprouting up and carefully cultivating that which will one day bear fruit. It requires tilling the soil and weeding out anything that is not fructiferous and fragrant and beautiful. Charlotte Mason considered character traits to be habits. Habits of thought and habits of deed. A mother’s role is to gently guide the child, like a guardian angel, into habits of gentleness, courtesy, candor, respect for others, and truthfulness. The work […]

Teenage Boy Studying At Desk In Bedroom

Steps to Self Learning

Students who have developed a foundation of good character (no, not perfect children, but those who have a conscience about doing the right thing) and have gained personal responsibility for their education—with an eye set on the future—are prime candidates for self learning.  The first step to moving toward self learning is to carefully select curricula that is well suited for self education. This means the course can be used by the student alone, once he has grasped how it should be done. You see, after your child has learned to read (a teacher is often needed full time for […]

Cute family lying on the floor smiling at camera

Teaching Character

Over the years I’ve been asked how we approached teaching character in our home. I’d love to share how we went about it because it was one of my most favorite aspects of homeschooling. Without question, the most important thing we did was begin our mornings with devotional and Bible reading, discussions about what we learned, and prayer. These morning moments were so valuable and some of the most precious memories of our homeschooling. They generally lasted from ten minutes to an hour and a half, depending on the topic and how deep we went with the subject matter. On […]

The Habit of Attention

The Habit of Attention

One of the most profound—and often under appreciated—methods of Charlotte Mason is her teachings on habits. How I wish I had known of this extremely influential concept when my children were younger, before they formed the bad habits we invested a lot of time undoing. Mason addresses the fascinating subject of attention: The Habit of Attention. She explains that a child should stay focused on a subject and not allow his mind to wander hither and thither with every interesting thought that pops into his brain. The thing is, our children have fascinating thoughts and ideas, but they must be […]

Paper Jams and Patience

Paper Jams and Patience

Have you ever heard that God has an incredible sense of humor? It never fails that when I’m considering some spiritual concept, have some spiritual revelation, or especially if I’m supposed to teach or write something about a spiritual principal—I’m tested on it. Hence, paper jams and patience. I remember the day I was finishing up my Botany Co-op Manual. With every lesson, I included a short devotion the co-op teacher could read to the kids. I was writing on suffering and how Christians grow through it. I included Bible verses about thanking God for our trials. You know, they […]

Character Training for All

Character Training for All

One Easter, after sitting with my children in their fort and telling them the story of Christ, I watched as my oldest child hid resurrection eggs for her three younger siblings. Immediately, I was struck by the preciousness of the lives they live. The relationships they are forming will be a source of support and comfort to them their entire lives. We have seen many dear friends come and go, with relocation and other circumstances taking them from us. But the immediate family God has given us remains a constant. The joy our children derive from one another is in direct proportion to […]