4K Week 1

I chose to start our homeschool year the week of Labor Day in order to grant myself a couple of weeks of teaching college classes before I was also teaching at home. This seemed like a great plan until my husband reminded me that his staycation was the same week. Our weekly schedules are simple, but making this one especially simple gave us time together as a family and gave us a practice round for the coming weeks.

Week One of Four-Year-Old Home Education

I guess this doesn’t seem like much if you look at it in boxes. The catch, though, is that each task requires two four-year-old boys’ complete attention. Most mornings we listened to one hymn and one classical piece during breakfast. Then we read the next story in one of our children’s Bibles. When I came home from the university on Tuesday and Thursday, we took a walk in the woods. On Wednesday, we also looked at a famous painting during lunch and read a couple of chapters together that night. We did read picture books every day, but they weren’t specifically planned and so are not included here.

Charlotte Mason’s method caught my attention two years ago for many reasons. I exercise my liberties as mom and have tendencies toward unschooling (especially since the boys are so young). Still I need a set rhythm, and Simply Charlotte Mason and Ambleside Online have been a great guides these past two years. Many of their resources are free, and the rest are quite affordable.

“Children are born persons,” is how Mason begins her 20 principles of home education, and she goes on to clarify that each child’s personality is due respect. Each year I pray over the personalities in our family as I scheduled our school year. Last year was lovely, and I’m looking forward to another year using Mason’s principles with my family.