Over the years our routines have changed. Our homeschool has evolved as my children have matured and as I’ve become more comfortable with our routines. But, our constant has been the Charlotte Mason philosophy. We are not strict adherents, but more of loose followers of this homeschool philosophy. So, take a peek inside a day in the life of our relaxed Charlotte Mason homeschool.
What is a Relaxed Charlotte Mason Homeschool?
I like to think of a Relaxed Charlotte Mason homeschool as one in which Charlotte has embraced technology and the 21st century. Charlotte Mason was an innovator for her time. She flouted the traditions of the day of children remaining in the nursery and not spending time with adults or in the outdoors. And, I like to imagine she would be a radical in the world of public education.
So, in our Relaxed Charlotte Mason Homeschool, we relax the rules from the 19th century and update them to include technology and other conveniences. We still include the major components like copywork, dictation, living books, and nature study, but we add in a few modern items like online courses. It’s a 21st century Charlotte Mason!
Starting our Relaxed Charlotte Mason Day
Now, that my children are older, they like to be independent. So, no more read alouds and morning times. If the truth be told, tweens and teens aren’t always so pleasant first thing in the morning. Letting them start their morning at their own pace with individual work seems to be the best plan.
Checking the Schedule
To help them foster independence, while also keeping them on track, we use Homeschool Tracker. Each weekend I update the Homeschool Tracker calendar with what I expect them to accomplish for the week. Does this mean that everything always gets done each week? Nope. The calendar is flexible and can adjust to what life throws at us. But, it does give everybody expectations of the week. I find that this works much better than just throwing a day’s work at them and leaving them in the dark about the rest of the week.
Getting to Work
After they fix their breakfasts, they start their work. (At this point I’ve eaten breakfast a couple of hours before the kids, so I’m not remaking breakfast. If you don’t get up when Mom does, you fix your own breakfast.)
The high schooler is taking a couple of classes at a local school, so she heads out for those. The middle schooler starts on her day’s work.
Daily Work in a Relaxed Charlotte Mason Homeschool
Everyday Work – Math, Copywork, Literature
Every day the kids have a math assignment. In our homeschool, I’ve found that having large breaks between math assignments causes stress and confusion. So during the week, they have daily assignments in math.
They also have daily copywork. Most of the time this copywork comes from their day’s reading in literature, history or picture study. This strengthens their handwriting skills, but it also helps with grammar and spelling recognition.
We read daily in this house. Because we are involved in book clubs, the kids read from their monthly novel each day. They use Literary Adventure for Kids online book clubs daily to guide them through their reading and help them to take deep dives into the subject.
Most Days Work – History, Science, Grammar, Geography
We use living books to work through different eras in history. History is usually scheduled for 2-4 days per week. These are some of the books we are currently using to study American History.
- How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous
- How They Choked: Failures, Flops, and Flaws of the Awfully Famous
- Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame (and What the Neighbors Thought)
- Circle C Adventures
- American Girl Rebecca Series
- Stories of America
Science is also a subject that is generally 2-4 days per week. Sometimes that means we work through a Nature Book Club and sometimes we use living books and experiments.
The youngest uses Grammar Galaxy to learn grammar. She reads through the mission and then spends the next few days on “saving Grammar Galaxy!”
We are using Beautiful Feet’s geography to learn about the states and the surrounding countries. In this program, the student reads through a classic book like Paddle to the Sea and then fills in the corresponding map.
Once a Week Work
Once a week we meet with our Enrichment Group. While there the kids have loads of fun doing hands-on projects in science, art, and history. But, their favorite part is book club. We used to meet monthly with our friends for book club. But, now we meet once a week for a little magic dust in literature.
Once A Month Work
Once a month we meet with our friends for Poetry and Tea. We have fun snacks and read poetry with a particular theme. We usually spend time working on different poetry writing projects and talk about our favorite poems.
Adding Enchantment to Our Relaxed Charlotte Mason Homeschool
Adding a sprinkle of enchantment works best when we can fit it into our schedule without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. I use this Enchantment Planner to help me to remember to add enchantment to our homeschool without feeling stressed. You can download your free Enchantment Planner below.
We don’t always get to every item on this list each month, but we try to get in at least one per week. Some are pretty simple and some require a bit more planning. But, the kids are excited about even something as simple as Milkshake Monday which requires very little effort on my part.
And, that’s a Day in the Life our Relaxed Charlotte Mason homeschool. Not every day is the same and often we are outside of the house on field trips or other enrichment activities. A relaxed Charlotte Mason philosophy allows us to make changes to our routine and add a spark of enchantment to our day.
Hi, I’m Dachelle. I’m a homeschooling mom of 3 in the South. I love chocolate and have been known to hide it from my children. I can often be found reading a good book (or even sometimes just an okay book) and enjoying a jar of Nutella — don’t judge. I blog, here, at HideTheChocolate.com when I’m not creating book clubs and making lists…lots and lots of lists (it’s an addiction). Learn more…
We’re relaxed Charlotte Mason homeschoolers too! I love hearing about what other homeschoolers’ days look like.