For most of us, one of the biggest goals of home-educating our children is that they love to learn. In fact, I’ve often heard this sited as one of the many reasons we love Charlotte Mason. But do YOU love to learn? And how does your attitude about learning affect your children? In her post When Adults Love to Learn, Nancy at Sage Parnassus shares some of what she learned at a Living Education retreat.

ART & MUSIC

Tricia’s family uses pastels frequently, and the posts at her HodgePodge blog always make me want to run out and get whatever supplies necessary! I really, really, really will buy some pastels this year and take advantage of some of her great tutorials — like this one: Apple or Pumpkin? A Pastels Tutorial.

Jimmie at Jimmie’s Collage shares Symmetry Sketches. I haven’t tried doing this with my girls yet, but I love the idea!

Laura gives us Six Ways to Introduce Fine Arts Using the Happy Idiot Method. (Trust me, the title makes perfect sense after you read the article!)

Does your family study hymns? [Confession: we plan to, but we haven’t done it yet this year!] Amy at Fisher Academy International shares how she and her family do it in Hymn Study: Our Method.

I wish I could’ve participated in Makita’s fun 3rd Annual Summer Art Camp! Posted at Academia Celestia.

Phyllis at Hunsucker’s Home shares what sorts of music and art studies her family is doing this year in Look and Listen With Us.

NATURE STUDY

Bird Study: The White Ibis by Michelle at Life on My Planet.

How fun is this? Mom (Pamela) joined in for camp with the kids, and all sorts of outdoor fun in her post Family Camp at Blah, Blah, Blog.

Nature studies and nature walks don’t have to be complicated. See how Amy’s family does it in Up A Creek at Fisher Academy.

LIVING BOOKS

Lizzie at A Dusty Frame shares a great list of Resources We’re Using for Homeschool/Civil War Study.

I’d enjoy this study myself! Elective: Equine Studies at Beck’s Bounty. It’s one that will include a great number of living books, but also some wonderful nature study/science as well!

Robin at Crack the Egg loves these history/geography resources she stumbled upon: Geography in a Classic Travel Guide for Kids.

POETRY & DICTATION

Recitation, poetry, and tea = a fun afternoon for me. Elizabeth at Treasuring the Moments shares how her family does it in Recitation on Interpretive Reading. She also shares her thoughts on the importance of keeping early education very informal in Starting to Homeschool Your Young Child Part I and Part II.

Read how Heather at Gentle Art of Chaos is doing Prepared Dictation in her homeschool.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Check out Tatiana’s free ideas for Serious Language Study, posted at World Star Academy.

Read more language study ideas in How We Study Dutch at Tea Time with AnnieKate.

MISCELLANEOUS

I’ve always said that one of the reasons I love homeschooling is the flexibility. Angie at Live, Love, Learn is tweaking some of how Charlotte-Mason inspired plans. She shares some specifics in Making Changes! Angie also shares some fantastic ways to display all those great resources they use, and the wonderful things they are learning in her post, Display It!

As Keri says, “no two homeschools (or families) are alike.” So she’s made her own schedules and forms. Read more of her Charlotte Mason-inspired thoughts in Schedules, Lists, Plans at Sunny Keri.

Makita shares her thoughts on The Benefits of Service Learning at Academia Celestia.

Did you know that just in this one CM Carnival, there are at least three countries other than the U.S. sharing posts? I think that’s cool! Phyllis’ family is living in the Ukraine; see what their school days look like in First Day of School.

Melissa at Bugs, Knights, & Turkeys in the Yard loves her family’s math curriculum, so she is hosting a Math Giveaway.

I don’t normally include posts from blogs like Online Masters, but I like some of the links shared in this post: 50 Best Blogs for Homeschooling Dads. And really, there just isn’t as much out there for homeschooling dads as there is for us moms.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival! Please consider submitting your own post for the next  edition; just use this submission form. Or if you are interested in hosting sometime, please email me!

Jamie

Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »