Encouragement to the Task

I posted these thoughts last year as we slid from our summer school routine into our autumn routine. I really needed to read these truths this week, so I decided to share them again. 

What do you expect of me, Lord?

I have one vital task in rearing my children: to point them to Jesus. My daily focus is not to make sure they are happy, or successful or smart. My job, as their mother, is to help them know the Lord. 

My son, hear the instruction of thy father,

 and forsake not the law of thy mother;

 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head,

 and chains about thy neck. 

Proverbs 1:8-9

But how will I have the strength and wisdom to do this, Lord?

I do not have the strength and wisdom to do this. It will come from my gracious Lord.

But my God shall supply all your need

 according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 Philippians 4:19

On what should I focus, Lord?

I musn't be distracted by all the "good" things this world has to offer, but rather focus on the righteousness that God offers. 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,

 whatsoever things are honest,

 whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,

 whatsoever things are lovely,

 whatsoever things are of good report;

 if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,

 think on these things. 

Those things, which ye have both learned,

and received, and heard, and seen in me, do:

 and the God of peace shall be with you. 

Philippians 4:8,9

Will You bless me in my efforts, Lord?

It is my task to sow diligently the words of God into my children, and the Lord will bring forth His harvest.

Be not deceived, God is not mocked:

 for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 

For he that soweth to his flesh

 shall of the flesh reap corruption;

 but he that soweth to the Spirit shall 

of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 

And let us not be weary in well doing;

 for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

 Galatians 6:7-9

Moment of Library Clarity

Finally, finally. I've been praying for the answer to organizing our books ~ our many, many books. Grouping by author was absolutely useless, as was grouping alphabetically by title. I even looked into several computer programs designed to help me keep organized, but they just weren't the right fit for our situation. It finally dawned on me to organize them as we use them: by relevant time period! Oh, what a relief.

I put the system in place a couple of months ago while Mike was off from work to help wrangle the kids, and it was a chore getting everything in order! I went through every book and noted on the front flap in which section it belongs. But I'm so glad I did it ~ it is working wonderfully. For the first time in years, I can walk to any of our numerous shelves, find the correctly labeled section, and quickly pull out a certain book. So nice.

We have biographies, history, and historical fiction all organized by historical period. We also have several shelves devoted to what we call "Our World." That can include books about cultures, maps, weather, insects, how things are made, and all kinds of other science materials. Finally, we have several shelves for what we call "Story Books" that hold all the fiction, readers, and just-for-fun materials that don't really fit any other category.

This has been such a blessing, since we are a Charlotte Mason family, and we mainly use books as they correlate to our history studies. When the kids pull a book on their own to read, they drop it in a basket in the school room when they are finished. HW is responsible every day (it's in his ChorePack) to shelve books from that basket. For the most part he does a good job of it, with just a little follow-up from me.

We do have one problem, though. We still, even after a ruthless culling, own too many books. What a nice problem to have, and we feel very blessed, but it is still a problem. Another paring down is in order, and I'm going to have to get tough about it. Until that happens, though, I'll just ignore that stack on the floor, and enjoy my neat and tidy shelves.

The Fort

Remember this?
This project has been a long one ~ lovingly crafted from the ground up, with all the kids pitching in to help their Daddy. Dear R especially has been his biggest help, rising early each Saturday morning to put in several hours of work before the day heats up too much. They have enjoyed working together so very much! I'm so proud of them and all they've accomplished. And soon we'll be able to show finished photos of this great big fort. It's going to be a playhouse any kid would love!

After their work this past week, R and HA and HW packed a quick lunch of hot dogs and strawberries and chips, kicked their shoes off and had a picnic in the ground floor of the new fort. I'm so happy for them!

Days Like This

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

 and cometh down from the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness,

 neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17

Since I can never seem to stay caught up on scrapbooking for my dear children, this blog serves as a reminder of the big stuff and the little stuff that I want to remember with my family. Here are some of the blessings that I'm keeping in my heart this day.

Last evening the weather was beautiful again. We ate a simple supper on the porch, then we taught Baby S how to chase fireflies. The big kids, with enthusiastic help from Hank the cowdog, did relay races and all sorts of games that had their Daddy and me in stitches. Baby S ran about laughing and copying everything they did. After soapy baths to wash all the chiggers off, I tucked them all in with kisses and a heart full of gratitude that this precious family is mine.

We generally take Friday's off from school in the summer, so today started with gardening. R tidied the kitchen after breakfast, and the boys watched Baby S while I picked green beans, peppers, squash, cabbage, potatoes, broccoli and the very first tomato of the season.

While I worked my way down the rows, I mentally planned out several menus to use up all that good bounty, including plans to freeze some of the beans since there are so many I don't think even my veggie-loving family can eat them all up right now. Praise the Lord for all this fresh goodness, and for all the work done by my parents and my extended family in keeping the garden going for all of us. It's a huge blessing to feed our children this healthful, fresh produce straight from the field. And praise Him for the rain we are expecting later today and this weekend!

A few peaches survived the hail, wind and hard rain a few weeks back. We didn't beat the worms completely, but we did a much better job this year controlling the pests. They tasted great and the kids thoroughly enjoyed every morsel!

Our first year to grow grapes ~ and they are looking good!

HW showing about a third of the big garden. Yep, it's big. 

HA can't wait for some good sweet corn! It's almost ready.

The potatoes have been delish, and we still have rows and rows of them left to enjoy.

R is still taller than the corn, but not by much~

I think most of our rows are about 70 feet long. The melon rows are even longer. Here is HW at the far end of the beans.

After gardening, R, HA, and HW took a wheelbarrow full of garden scraps (spent broccoli plants and cabbage leaves) to the cows and chickens. As I watched through the kitchen window they joked and laughed together while they lugged the heavy load and forked the greens over the fence. My heart was warmed by watching them at the task together. I love that they love each other.

They came inside, washed up, and went to do R's School while Baby S and I played make-believe with the Playmobil people on the floor. R's School is a family tradition that started two years ago when a young R asked if she could teach the boys. She began carefully preparing lessons and teaching her little brothers for about half an hour, a couple of times per week. R's School has now expanded into several hours per week for the boys. On R's School days, Baby S and I enjoy some quality play time together while the three big kids have a blast doing fun projects, zipping through math flash cards, and playing educational games together. Some of the fun stuff they did today included agriculture worksheets, an art lesson, and building a working clock from lemons. The best part was that I overheard the very start of their school time, as the three kids began with this very thoughtful and humble prayer from eight-year-old HW:

"Dear God,
Thank you for this day, and thank you for all your blessings. Please help us to have a good day at R's School. Please help R to be a good teacher, and please HA and me to be good students. Please help us to do your will. In Jesus name we pray. Amen."

Cool! Can't wait to talk to Daddy about it when he gets home.

It's time for lunch now and we've already accomplished much together. I am so grateful to be able to teach these kids. Days like these refresh my spirt for all the mothering tasks I've been entrusted to do. And today I do them with a happy and full heart, praising God for every good and perfect gift.

Home Schooling Year Round - Update

alternatively titled

Why I Love the South in February

alternatively titled

Why On Earth Did It Take Me So Long

 to Try Year Round School?

Yep, this whole winter break thing is working out really, really well. 

Applauding Mr. Spence

Thank you, Mr. Spence. Your article entitled "How to Raise Boys Who Read" succinctly states exactly what my gut has been telling me all along. Boys can learn to love reading! And they don't need dumbed down books full of gross-out humor to do it. We parents needs to set the bar higher than that.

Our boys are now eight, and they are turning into interesting, polite, educated, funny, well-rounded, and well-behaved young men. I'm proud of them. And, on top of all that, they really love to read. And we've never resorted to any of the foul books mentioned in Mr. Spence's article to pique their interest.

Now, don't get me wrong. HA and HW can hardly contain their giggles if someone burps at the table. They think smells are hilarious. They are absolutely all boy. But they are civilized. We don't feed them books that encourage them to act like animals. That's because we don't want them to act like animals.

Since our boys were very young we've enjoyed reading aloud together from books like The Wind in the Willows ~ it made them laugh out loud, fueled their imagination, and stretched their vocabulary. Now, in addition to classics, they devour how-to books, clean joke books, and science books. (They've learned more about God's amazing insects than I will ever know.) Right now their Daddy is reading Pat McManus to them every night, and they all get so tickled that we have to keep the door closed so they won't wake the baby. There are tons of great stories and great adventures out there for my boys to read. And those stories needn't focus on bathroom humor to hold their interest.

I should add that we don't have video games. If we did, I doubt I'd be writing this post. Instead, I'd probably be scouring the web trying to figure out how to get my boys to read.

Mr. Spence, who is president of Spence Publishing, closes with a great point:

"Most importantly, a boy raised on great literature is more likely to grow up to think, to speak, and to write like a civilized man. Whom would you prefer to have shaped the boyhood imagination of your daughter's husband—Raymond Bean or Robert Louis Stevenson?"

Pecan Bluff Dinner Bell

I'm so proud of twelve-year-old R! As part of her 4H Foods and Nutrition project this year she is blogging about her cooking adventures at www.pecanbluffdinnerbell.blogspot.com

Go check it out, and encourage her with a comment!

Librivox

We discovered a great source for free audio recordings of books in the public domain ~ Librivox Recordings. We constantly have read-alouds going in our family, and hubby's and my voices get pretty worn out. So every once in a while we choose a work that is recorded, and we all get to listen together. We listened to The Railway Children last year, and are now enjoying Robin Hood from Librivox. Later this year we'll use the Librivox recordings of Pinocchio and Pilgrim's Progress by Bunyan. What a blessing!

Pin Prints

We teach our children American Sign Language beginning when they are babies. It's a beautiful language, and it's great to be able to minister to someone if you know ASL. The kids already have a large vocabulary of signs, and now we are working on improving their speed and their finger-spelling ability.


We just discovered that this pin print toy is an awesome tool for practicing sign in a super sensory way! The letter signs look very cool when pressed into the pins, and you can really feel your hand position while you see it displayed at the same time. It's an awesome way to reinforce proper letter formations.


This is great for a child who is learning letters and shapes, too. You can press refrigerator magnet letters into the pins for a 3D effect, or use puzzle pieces or cookie cutters, or shape sorter toys to press out the shapes. The possibilities are endless.

Charlotte Mason Meets Workboxes ~ Part 5

Lessons Learned

1. Don't get too cute with the workbox system. When I made up all the kids task cards (that's the laminated card that goes inside the box and has detailed instructions to tell the students exactly what to do for that subject/task) I thought each child might get bored if all their task cards were the exact same color, so I gave each child two coordinating colors. Well, it turns out that when I am filling the boxes late at night I only have about one working brain cell left. That poor, lone brain cell should only have to sort three colors, instead of six. Lesson learned, the hard way. We are stuck with the multi-colored cards until I'm ready to reprint and laminate again, and that won't be anytime soon.

2. Don't buy all the boxes you think you need until you've tried the system for a few days with just a few boxes. You could even try the system with large manilla envelopes at first, before buying boxes at all. When I finally chose my boxes, I was scared I wouldn't be able to find enough of that kind, so right off the bat I bought 2 of the larger size for each child. In reality, each child only needs one of the large-sized box. Oh, those extra boxes I bought will still be used, but I'd rather have just saved that money when implementing this system. {I've already assigned this creature to one of those bigger boxes. He'd been lying in pointy pieces all around the boys' room for a while, and last week one disembodied claw fell out of the laundry onto my bare foot while I was sorting. I'd give anything to have a video of myself at that moment. Good times.}

3. Don't fill boxes just to fill boxes. Make sure each box has something in it that you really want the student to do that day. If that only takes 6 boxes, go with it. This is your system, remember?

4. Find a place to store your workbox supplies. I shuffled stuff for several aggravating days before I finally cleaned out a nice, big drawer where I keep all my workbox stuff now. Ah, that's better.

5. You usually get what you pay for. I tried to save $3 by purchasing the cheapest 1.5 inch circle punch I could find. It didn't work. I fiddled with it, had hubby take it apart, put it back together, gave up, drove back to town, and bought the other one. It works like a charm.

Charlotte Mason Meets Workboxes ~ Part 4

How Does It Work?

The kids complete the boxes in order. If they need help and I am not in the room just then, they come find me and get help. When they complete a box, they take all the materials they used for that task and put them in the "Work Completed" box on top of the book shelf. They take the velcro number tag off that completed box and hang it on their own strip on the wall (they each decorated their strip with stickers they chose.) Then they stack their empty box in the corner of the room, with the lid on. It makes a tall stack by the end of the morning, but I like that better than having loose lids stacked around. They are finished when the boxes are all complete, emptied, and stacked.

What's In the Family Studies Boxes?

This summer, our Family Studies boxes include these sorts of things:

Bible Reading and Bible Study (We finished Egermeir's Story Bible, the gospels, and just finished the book of Acts. We also use Bible Study Guide for All Ages to reinforce.)

Scripture Memory (The children practice these during school time, then come find me to recite it to me. Then we review these memory verses together with Daddy during Family Time each evening.)

History (We listen to Mystery of History on cd every evening together.)

Science (We are finishing Apologia Zoology 1, plus we do lots of our own science studies based on nature around us.)

Real Life University (This is our own curriculum. We teach our children life skills; it covers things we deem important to becoming competent, productive, capable, and hardworking.)

Literature (We've enjoyed lots of great lit through the years by using this list as a guide. This is one of our favorite parts of home schooling~ read alouds!)

Geography (A Child's Geography and other resources.)

We have not started Shakespeare yet, so that will be added to our Family Studies boxes next fall. Also, Artistic Pursuits will be added back in then.

What's In the Individual Studies Boxes?

These are just a few of the color-coded subject tags.

The individual student's boxes may include things like these subjects or tasks:


Bible Devotional (This is their first assignment, every day. This is their alone time with God. They have a timer and their Bible in the box, and they read or pray alone quietly in their room for 20 minutes. Bible study is our most important part of school, and we want the kids to know that.)

Copywork (This may include a worksheet to practice certain letters, but more often is copywork or dictation, per CM methods.)

Math (This box might contain a pencil and their regular math book, or the laminated task card might instruct them to do Teaching Textbooks on the computer. It might contain a worksheet to practice skills, it might have a stack of flashcards with instructions to come to me for an oral quiz, or it may hold a math game.)

Geography (This is either a book that supplements our family geography studies {A Child's Geography}, or it may be the text of A Child's Geography, and the student is asked to review a previous lesson. Or, it may be a workbook or worksheet that covers map skills.)

Science (We use tons of supplemental science materials, like Christian Liberty Nature Readers, Moody Science DVDs, and many materials from Apologetics Press , to teach science based on scriptures.)

Literature (Each child always has a book they are reading independently. They read a chapter per day, or about 20 minutes. These books used to be a source of constant frustration~ they were never returned to the shelf, and when it was time to read them, we wasted time hunting them down. Now, they are dropped in the Work Completed box after reading is done, and I put them back in the workbox the next day. Whew.)

Poetry (We are blessed to have lots of great old poetry books, so in addition to the poetry we enjoy together, I also rotate these books through and give each child time to peruse and enjoy them on their own.)

Nature Study (Since nature is close-at-hand here at Pecan Bluff, I am thankful I can just assign a child to find something to study and they can do it fairly unassisted. We do some group nature studies, too, but individual nature studies happen much more frequently now, because their nature notebook, colored pencils, and the gum eraser are handy, right in the box!)

Picture Study (We discuss this together some, but I also want the kids to study great works of art and be quizzed individually. So they each get about 3 pictures and have to memorize the name and artist, then they come find me and are quizzed. I use a gentle approach, because I want them to enjoy studying the pictures.)

Hymn Study (This box contains a set of headphones and MP3 with lovely hymns from Wave of Grace. I also include our hymn book, so if they like, they can look up the songs and sing along, studying the music and the composer's name as they listen. I love this!)

Personal Development (This is a variety of resources that we chose. They may range from a biography of a missionary, to a book about another culture, a handbook on homemaking skills, or handicraft projects. Anything inspiring! We've particularly enjoyed the Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends DVD, and the Miller series of books by Martin. One student is working on knitting, and another is reading A Young Man's Handybook.)

Music (Two of our kids have instruments to practice during this time. If I want them to practice the violin and classical guitar together, then I place the boxes in their lineup so that the times coincide. Otherwise, they just practice whenever they get to that box. And they usually practice where the baby can watch and listen ~ she loves it!)

Foreign Language (This box simply has a card that tells the child to do Rosetta Stone Spanish on the computer, then put the disk away nicely.)

Play with Baby (This is a skill I'm intentionally building, because so much is gained by having siblings of all ages work and play together every day. This workbox holds board books, slates or construction paper and sticks of chalk, magnetic letters, or chunky puzzles. Each student spends some time alone with the baby, playing. It's precious to a mama's heart to see this every day!)

Timeline Figures (The student is to put up figures at the proper spot on our wall timeline in the living room. The tape is in the box, too. We use figures from History Through the Ages, and they are beautiful!)

Tidy (Student is to tidy up their school space, and choose one other space in our home and tidy that, too.)

Break (Some breaks are free time. Others are specific, like Legos, leisure reading, baking, etc.)

Snack (This is usually a small snack to be eaten at their desk while they read or draw. I also include a paper cup, with instructions to fill it with water and drink it all. I believe that water makes our brains work better!)

PE (Sometimes indoors, sometimes out. During the hot summer this is usually some indoor calesthenics to get the child moving and work out the kinks.  They do lots of other farm and house work during our day, so this is kept short.)

"How can I help, Mom?" (This is a character-building task that we use sometimes. The child is supposed to find me and ask this question, just to bless Mama. Sweet.)

We take care of group hymn studies each night during Family Time (our daily family devotional time), and in the car, and at various other times of the day, because we love to sing. We do poetry as we like, whenever the mood strikes, but not always during "school time." We study composers periodically. 

In addition to all the normal subjects, we can add in resources as we like. I have one student that is particularly interested in anatomy and meterology, so that child sometimes gets a box that covers those topics for a change of pace from our usual science studies. One child loves maps beyond what we would normally cover in geography, so we are able to feed that interest.

I'm finding that the boxes help me work in lots of things that used to be too hard to fit into our day. For example, even though we are not studying American history formally right now, patriotism and citizenship are very important to our family. So, those kinds of cool resources regularly find their way into our workboxes now. One child is train-crazy, so there can often be found a history of steam engines or some such book in a box in that student's stack to encourage that interest. One child is really into the technical aspects of cooking and baking, so a giant America's Test Kitchen recipe book might show up in the Leisure Reading workbox. The boxes help keep us on track with things we need to do, but we are still able to add in extra things we really want to do, as well. I'm using our supply of resources so much better now that I have the boxes working.

For the independent studies, they are all studying at the same time of day, but the children go at their own pace and simply come find me when they need help with a task or need to narrate or be orally quizzed. This allows me some time to play with the baby and work in other rooms while they labor away. Then we all meet again in the afternoon for a short time while the baby naps, to cover our Family Studies as a group. Some days we only do either Family Studies, or Independent Students, not both. This  gives me some flexibility if the baby is fussy or I'm behind in homekeeping; I can plan a day where the children work extra on the workbox subjects they can do mostly on their own, and we just save our group studies for the next day.

 I am so pleased at how this system is helping us stay organized and get more done. I'm getting faster at filling boxes each evening, and I'm figuring out how to mesh the system with my online organizer at Simply Charlotte Mason. Daddy likes the way it works and the way the school room looks, the kids are having a good time with it, and I'm loving it!

Charlotte Mason Meets Workboxes ~ Part 3

Getting Set Up

I chose large, clear, flat boxes, because I did not want things hanging out of the boxes. Having books and games that stuck out of the tops of boxes that were a smidge too small would just remind me of that messy pile of books and supplies we used to shuffle around every day in the middle of our school table. Getting rid of the shifting pile of resources we used each day was one of the main reasons I chose to start using workboxes, so having very neat boxes was a biggie for me. The boxes I found cost me a little more than other choices, but they are so worth it to me. 

I also bought a Scotch thermal laminator for less than $30, a big pack of cardstock, velcro dots, and a round hole punch to punch out numbers and subject tags.

 

For the first week I just experimented to figure out what kinds of assignment/task cards I might need for the kids' boxes. I wrote temporary task cards on sticky notes, then took notice of how smoothly things went and what I needed to add to clarify tasks for the kids. The goal was to make the independent work boxes just that ~ pretty independent. Then we took the plunge and printed up the task cards, color-coded numbers for each child, and color-coded subjects for each child. Next we made a velcro dot chart for each student to track their progress through the school day. I then made a "Work Completed" box, and we were set. I found the boxes and laminator and pouches and cardstock at Walmart. I bought the 1.5 inch hole punch and the velcro dots at Hobby Lobby. 

Each child has up to 10 boxes. Some days I use them all, some days less. We also have a stack of boxes marked for "Family Studies." That's where I neatly keep all the subject materials we study together. At night I fill a stack of boxes for each child, fill the Family Studies boxes, attach the numbers and subject tags, place the boxes on the bookshelf in order, and shut the school room door. Everything is completely ready when we walk in the next morning. Nice.

Charlotte Mason Meets Workboxes ~ Part 2

Part of being a good home schooling parent is acknowledging that our children are individuals with different learning styles. Each has his own challenges, each has her own strengths. It's our job to help them love learning, and reach their full potential using all their gifts. Workboxes have addressed the individuality of our kids, in a wonderful way.

One of our students is hands-on, loves "stuff" and is constantly shuffling things. This child is creative and needs lots of freedom to spread out and experiment, but only truly thrives when things are visually organized. Things that are out of sight are out of mind for this student, so keeping everything neat and at hand is important for morale and productivity. This child also needs well-timed breaks, but tends to get distracted if the daily goals are not very easy to follow. This student enjoys all the family learning we do together, but also loves some self-directed activities, and (gasp!) even really enjoys a good workbook or worksheet every now and then. Lengthy assignment lists depress this child even before the tasks are started. This child always likes to know where we stand in our day, and does best if our plans are outlined and easy to see, right from the start.

Another student in our family works long and hard, and does so tirelessly. I am required to provide large amounts of materials, because this child moves through books and assignments steadily and thoroughly. It is challenging to even keep up with this student to supply everything needed for the nice, lengthy school day this child enjoys. This child does best when all materials are easily found. If a project is assigned, but the glue is not the in drawer where it should be, then this child may improvise, rather than ask for help. And that means messes for me and a less-than-optimal project outcome. This child needs breaks assigned throughout the day, because this dedicated student gets engrossed in tasks and forgets exercise and playtime completely if they are not required. This child loves to see a pile of work ahead, because that means loads of mental stimulation await!  

My third student is very smart, but easily overwhelmed. The child can complete a lot of work in a day if carefully planned, but a daunting list alone can cause this kiddo to grind to halt in frustration. Assignments must be given in small bites, so short activities work best. For this child reading is a joy, but eye strain is a concern. Lengthy reading assignments work fine, as long as they are interspersed with other activities (like breaks, play, snacks, exercise.) This child also has a very high metabolism and requires frequent breaks to fuel up with some healthful snacks throughout the school day. This student feels great pride in a job well-done, and craves mom's approval as we move through our school day.

So, how can we make school work well for all these diverse learning styles and personalities? We put Charlotte Mason in the box, and we are finding she fits quite well.

Charlotte Mason Meets Workboxes ~ Part 1

Education is not the filling of a pail,

 but the lighting of a fire.

 William Butler Yeats

Years ago, we discovered that we are a Charlotte Mason (CM) family. We love the educational philosophy of CM, because we agree that education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. We strive to have an atmosphere in our home that ignites learning, develops discipline, and encourages curiosity.

We believe education is real life ~ our everyday, living, breathing life! Children learn all the time, naturally. We desire for our children to realize that history isn't just facts and dates in a book. It's people, and the choices they made. Science isn't just formulas, it's all that our senses and our hearts discover in this amazing world that God created.

CM methods call for parents to be very involved in their child's learning. So, our days include lots of living books that we read together, narration, nature study, and short lessons on a variety of topics. We study the Bible and hymns and memory verses together. We read and discuss biographies together. We study artists and scientists and authors, and we do most of it together. In addition to working through math books, we also apply math to our everyday life in myriad ways, especially in the workshop and the kitchen. And we've found that we naturally establish a strong foundation in grammar during the younger years, simply by reading great literature to our students, and talking and writing properly with them.

So, when workboxes came on my radar over a year ago, I dismissed it as very un-Charlotte Masonish. To me the system seemed like it called for filling boxes with busywork and games to keep the children busy so they could do school without my assistance. I really couldn't see how such a system could help us pursue our educational goals for our children.

I'm so very glad we took another look at workboxes this summer. We've used the system for several weeks, and are surprised at just how complementary the workbox system is to the Charlotte Mason philosophy. We are hooked.