Children deserve the best of their mothers.

In this first part of Home Education Charlotte Mason cuts right to the heart of the matter. And her words to the mothers (parents) of young children speak right to our hearts - and sometimes it hurts.

In these first few sections Charlotte is laying the foundation for all that we will read in the rest of the volumes. She's making a case for the personhood of the child and the gravity and seriousness with which we should approach their education beginning right in the nursery; for education does not begin with 'school. She's speaking in particular to mothers of young children, and we must keep in mind the time period she writes in, but these are words that we can turn to again and again for encouragement when we grow weary, or for direction when we've forgotten our priorities, or for clarity when our vision is dimmed.

(because we want to be present with the best part of ourselves)

Some Preliminary Considerations Pt 1

In this episode we discussed the first half of Part I of Home Education. We covered:

• The introduction of Part I
• A Method of Education
• The Child's Estate
• Offending the Children
• Despising the Children
• Hindering the Children

If you have the pink edition of The Original Homeschooling Series this is pp 1-20. (If you don't have a copy of the series, not to worry, Ambleside Online has provided a copy for you to read and study for free.)

[bctt tweet="I want to be present with my children with the best part of myself."]

During this week's periscope I discussed:

• The importance of the personhood of the child and how it should affect our vision of our children both in the present and in the future.
• We should spend time thinking about how to educate our children - we shouldn't act out of tradition but spend time searching for those truths/natural laws that define how children learn.
• The differences between a method and a system and we should be very careful not to turn Mason's ideas and philosophies into a system - especially in the realm of habits.
• While we should be intentional and use every opportunity that we are given to teach our children, it should comfort us remember that the Holy Spirit is their teacher and it is He who can be ever watchful.
• The 'Three Educational Laws of the New Testament'
• What are practical things that we do to teach our children every day about our loving God? Do we have a good 'nursery theology'? What signs are our children reading about God in our lives?

*Here is a really good place to note that I speak not out of any authority and don't seek emulation. I am but a student and am doing this study because I need it!*

Here is an edited version of Tuesday's periscope in case you missed it:

(This video was removed. I discovered that Periscope was not as natural a medium for this kind of discussion as I hoped. I'm working on another format so stay tuned!)

Next week we will discuss the second half of Part I:

• Conditions of Healthy Brain Activity
• 'The Reign of Law' In Education

(If you have the pink set it's pp 20-41)

If you have questions or want to chat about anything in Part I please leave a comment.

(You guys are welcome to use the comments to talk amongst yourselves not just to me)

If there is something in particular that you would like me to discuss in an upcoming video leave me a comment or send me a tweet!