Befriending Charlotte Mason

I found this neat blog called Old Fashioned Motherhood and her words have resonated with me. http://blog.oldfashionedmotherhood.com/2018/07/teach-5-reasons-why-i-stopped.html?m=1

     Rachel spent the first years of homeschooling with the unschooling mindset, but found Charlotte Mason and began a different way of schooling. My greatest wish is that there was a Charlotte Mason school here, because homeschool alone really isn't my goal, but there is NOTHING out there right now (in my area) that can bring the beauty of CM to children's lives. My struggle right now is between TJEd and CM. Classics and Living books go together, but the Core Phase just doesn't sit right with me, while a full day of Studies doesn't either. I think I still like the Twaddle Free Education book's idea of CM in the morning and projects in the afternoon. Right now I'm looking for how to get all the school stuff done in the morning so projects and handiwork can be in the afternoons. Honestly right now any schedule at all seems hard, with my trial run at beng more organzied with simple morning duties of Get dressed, eat breakfast, read scriptures, brush teeth and do dishes, being stopped at number one with my 2 year old changing clothes every 5 minutes... But here's more from Old Fashioned Motherhood:

"I began to walk beside my children, sharing a beautiful, inspiring feast of beauty and richness with them, guiding them, leading them to the things that I, as their mother, feel are important for them to learn."               

  and

 "My children did not know all the wonderful, beautiful, inspiring things that were out there, but I did!!!"

 I love the walking beside my children idea. Don't you? While we haven't done unschooling per say, I do think she spoke about me as well as her in saying that there was chaos and the kids didn't know what to expect from day to day. She was the fun and exciting mom who did fun things, at the expense of the things that need a steady work, like math and writing. Some things need daily practice, and honestly her schedule isn't too hairy, it's a nice mix of study and liberal arts. She spoke of schedules and planning and it got me. I don't want my kids to live in chaos, I want them to know what to expect, and I want them to be able to count on me to lead, guide, and walk beside them, not jumping from one thing to another. So, here's to trying a schedule, which we already have done a bit of, but I'm hoping that my new cube shelf system works :) Because our morning basket had blown up with too many good things, I made a little shelf for each day of our Table Time. There's a cube shelf for character studies, so the kids can go choose a book from there, one for Nature, World Studies, and Art. I have a color coded list added to our calendar, so they know which day it is and what color to look for for choosing their idea. I soo want something to work so they aren't lacking in structure and love! Wish me luck.