Join Amy and Leah as they wrap up this podcast season with a discussion on manners. How can we teach our kids to be polite? And while we're at it, how can we help them learn to be the kind of people who are thoughtful and considerate toward others? As Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, our first inclination is to reach for a book - but with manners, that's not always the best option. We chat about making abstract manners tangible for our kids, doing the work of parenting, and helping our kids learn to live well with others - and when to pull in the books! Read the full show notes: https://thinkinglove.education/2022/12/01/teaching-manners/ Learn more about our habit training workshop:  https://thinkinglove.education/habits

Kind Kids: Teaching Manners the Charlotte Mason Way

As our children learn to read and write, their first attempts at spelling are endearing. But at a certain point, we may start to wonder when and how to teach spelling.  With Charlotte Mason, learning to spell is integrated into many parts of the curriculum, including reading lessons, copywork, and dictation. Together, these lessons help our children learn how to spell by engaging with words in context and encouraging them to study the words closely. Join Amy and Leah as they untangle this multifaceted approach to teaching spelling. Full show notes available at:  https://thinkinglove.education/2022/11/10/spelling-copywork-dictation/

Spelling, Copywork, Dictation

Charlotte Mason hoped that children, educated upon many, beautiful ideas and supported in good habits, would grow up to continue learning their whole lives. With that in mind, educating our children is a dynamic process that moves toward this big picture. We choose books, plan lessons, and teach our kids, but as they get bigger, we start working on habits of independent learning, too. In this episode, Amy and Leah chat about why Year 4 gets a lot of attention in Charlotte Mason circles, why this doesn't mean we need to panic, and how we are helping our children grow as independent learners through reading their own school books and starting written narration. Leah also informs Amy about a slightly contentious topic in the Charlotte Mason world! Full Show Notes available at  https://thinkinglove.education/2022/10/27/raising-independent-learners/

Raising Independent Learners

Charlotte Mason believed that children should learn a second language from a very young age. She felt this was so important that teaching foreign language made it into the very short list of daily subjects for a child under six! But if we have little or no knowledge of a second language, it's hard to know where to start.  In this episode of the Thinking Love Podcast, Leah and Amy chat with Adelaide Olguin of Talkbox.mom on how we can make learning a foreign language a family effort - even if we are starting from scratch. You can read full show notes at  https://thinkinglove.education/2022/10/13/charlotte-mason-foreign-language/ Check out the 30-40-50 sale from Thinking Love For one week only, you will get 30 percent off the purchase of one product, 40 percent off the purchase of two products, and 50 percent the purchase of three! This sale includes our Habit training workshop, the Wise beginnings early years summit, and our Education is a life course. The sale ends on October 20th. Find out more at https://thinkinglove.education/sale.  

Teaching Foreign Language (the Charlotte Mason Way)

Sometimes homeschooling doesn't feel very peaceful. Whether our kids are dragging their feet, or we're struggling with our own attitudes, it's worth thinking about how we can get our day out of a downward spiral and heading toward something better. In this episode, Leah and Amy talk about what to do when our day is less than great. We turn to our tried-and-true friends, Atmosphere, Discipline, and Life to guide us. Read the full show notes here: https://thinkinglove.education/2022/09/29/save-homeschool-day/

How to Get a Homeschool Day Back on Track

How are handicrafts going? Whether you are crafting up a storm or struggling with consistency, we hope that this episode will be helpful and encouraging. We chat about why handicrafts are part of a Charlotte Mason curriculum, what we need to think about when we choose handicrafts, as well as sharing what and how we've taught our children.  Read the show notes, including links.

Handicrafts for Everyone

The Thinking Love Podcast is back for a new season, and we'll be talking Everyday Homeschooling. First up: what do we do with some of the not-so-everyday homeschool days, like the first day back after a summer break? Amy and Leah talk about how we can keep family traditions genuine, rather than an attempt to keep up with all of the pictures we see in our feeds!  We also share where we put most of our effort in preparing the first day back at school: scheduling, planning, and preparing spiritually and philosophically. Find the full show notes, including resources we've mentioned in this episode at: https://thinkinglove.education/2022/09/01/first-day-of-school/

First Day of Homeschool!

Eighteen months ago, Amy caught wind that Karen Glass had a new project around Charlotte Mason's Home Education. Karen was removing distracting, outdated references, adding back in some essays that had been moved to other volumes, and writing some study questions to help the modern reader see the principles behind Miss Mason's writing. Karen has now published her book, A Thinking Love: Studies from Charlotte Mason's Home Education. Congratulations, Karen, we love the title! We think it's a great time to re-release Karen's interview. It will be an encouragement from beginning to end. Originally, we aired this as two episodes to keep consistency with the rest of our season, but for this special occasion we are sharing it as one long episode. Enjoy!  Get a copy of Karen's book.  Find the original show notes.

Wisdom in Principles with Karen Glass (Revisited)

It's summer! Whether you follow a more traditional school schedule or school year-round, if you're in the northern hemisphere, it's time for some sun and hopefully some fun. In our season finale, Leah and Amy chat about what we do when we're not doing school and how our children (not to mention ourselves) can find living ideas to grow and inspire wherever we live.   Don't forget that our new self-paced course, Education is a Life is open for registration! It's a great way to get in some mother culture over the summer. For full show notes, visit :  https://thinkinglove.education/2022/06/02/charlotte-mason-summer/

Time for a Charlotte Mason Summer

Technological advances seem to happen faster and faster, and for many of us homeschool moms, we would prefer to tuck ourselves away with our book stacks and nature journals. But hiding from the Information Age could mean that we are missing opportunities to enrich our homeschools on one hand, and prepare our children for the world they will live in. Join us as we chat with Dachelle McVey about how to balance our concerns with technology and social media with taking advantage of the best it has to offer.   You can learn more about Dachelle at https://hidethechocolate.com/thinkinglove for some special freebies for our listeners, and at https://literaryadventuresforkids.com (her language arts curriculum).   Our new course, Education is a Life, is now open for registration after running in beta. We've made some tweaks and added some bonus content that we think you'll love. Head to our website to register!  For full show notes, head to:  https://thinkinglove.education/2022/05/19/charlotte-mason-technology/

Technology and the Charlotte Mason Homeschool with Dachelle McVey

Is the Charlotte Mason method enough? In a world full of pressure to achieve and attain, most of us have asked this question. Perhaps it looms largest on the minds of parents of kids with special needs. But for education specialist and home educator Amy Bodkin, the answer is a definite, "Yes". If your child is a born person, the Charlotte Mason method is not only enough, but it is the foundation for an education that will let your child flourish. Join us as we talk with Amy about how the Charlotte Mason method comes to life in her family.   Learn more about Amy on her website and at Charlotte Mason Plenary.  Read the full show notes: https://thinkinglove.education/2022/05/05/charlotte-mason-special-needs/

Charlotte Mason and Special Needs Kids with Amy Bodkin

In this episode of the podcast, Amy and Leah circle back to the topic of habit training, but with a special focus this time on kids with differently wired brains. We explore how we might expand our understanding of "Education is a Discipline" and think about how to break habits down in order to help our kids learn and grow - starting right where they are. Join us as we break down Charlotte Mason's 'big three' habits (obedience, attention, and truthfulness) from the perspective of neuro-divergent children.   In this episode we mention our Habit Training Workshop as well as  Leah's executive function cards.  For full show notes,  head to our website.

Habit Training and Neuro-Divergent Kids

In the last episode of the podcast, Amy and Leah explored what Charlotte Mason really said about kindergarten. Today, they are back with Jennifer Dowdy from Charlotte Mason Mama to talk about how and why we might want to create a kindergarten year for our younger children. Jennifer, a veteran Charlotte Mason homeschooler of thirteen years, shares incredible insight into how to make kindergarten a beautiful introduction to education.   Learn more about Jennifer and her curriculum, The Enchanted Kindergarten, at https://charlottemasonmama.com.  Read the full show notes at:  https://thinkinglove.education/2022/04/07/charlotte-mason-kindergarten-how/

The Case for (Charlotte Mason Kindergarten)

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!

What Charlotte Mason Thought about Kindergarten

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/

Charlotte Mason Narration in Action

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. 

Homeschooling with Joy

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/

Teaching without Words: Using Masterly Inactivity in Your Home

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.

The Art of Morning Time

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)

Cultivating a Love of Music in Your Charlotte Mason Homeschool

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  

Thinking Love

Thinking Love

Get Started

Download the App