If you asked me what was missing from our Home School I could tell you in one simple word. JOY. Joy was lacking. Our days have been hard and long and I think I know why. Is it possible to home school with joy? Keep reading to find out how I plan to implement joy in our upcoming school year.

Challenge Accepted
I love a challenge, as long as the challenge has a beneficial purpose. Do you remember the early reality shows that challenged people to do foolish things like stick their hand in a container of scorpions or drink a bottle of hot sauce. Things that were just absolutely ridiculous but arguable challenging. Those are the types of things I steer clear of. And even though I try to steer clear, our last school year was tough. And as I approached this upcoming school year I was seeking clarity, simplicity and more than anything joy for me and my children in our home school.
Yes, joy is what I’m seeking. I’m not looking for fun or entertaining because frankly I don’t think school is fun most of the time, but neither is life. I need our home school to breathe life and joy into my children and frankly into myself. I can’t speak for anyone else but going into a home school day without a plan can feel hopeless.
And truth be told I actually did have a plan last year, tons of plans. But after selling our house, living with family, home schooling at my in-laws and moving halfway across the country I was tired. Or better yet weary. All of my home school plans seemed futile, weariness does not lend to a joyful environment. I like David was trying to “encourage myself” but it was not going well.
My sister told me that the answer I was looking for was a Charlotte Mason approach to education.
Charlotte Mason and Maria Montessori
My sister had been telling me about Charlotte Mason for at least a year and a half. But I was sold on Montessori. I had read the books, set up a small co-op for a few students in my home and even taken courses to receive my Montessori Early Childhood credential. I really did and still enjoy Montessori’s approach to learning. And as I learn more about Charlotte Mason and her philosophy I see how there are aspects of Montessori that do align with Charlotte Mason.
The idea that children are born persons aligns with Montessori. Montessori thought that if we follow the child and their natural curiosities this will lead to learning.
Mason says that children are responsible persons and teach themselves. Montessori says adults should be guides and not impress their own thoughts and opinions onto the children.
Montessori respected children and their individual desires in a time when children were thought incapable of having authentic and organic thought processes. She also gave children challenging work to do, because she saw them as capable and willing to learn a multitude of subject simultaneously.
After pouring through the AmblesideOnline website I would agree that the curriculum is definitely challenging because children need to be given great work and ideas before they can produce great work.
So do you see how there are some similarities between the Montessori and Mason?
That We Would See Jesus
So even though I had been tracking with Montessori since my oldest was two, there was something missing. The joy was not there, homeschooling one child while trying to keep two other children motion was not joyful. And truthfully it has been down right burdensome. For months I’ve been trying to find the root of this burden. This is what I know to be true.
My husband and I have chosen to home school our children. It definitely is what I want to do and what I think serves our family well during this time.
I was homeschooled for the elementary and most of middle school. The home school world is familiar to me and feels natural.
Our current curriculum choices have been fine but I was trying to bring them to life.
I did not look forward to our home school days.

We’ve always started our home school days with Bible Time. Essentially we sing a hymn or two, read Bible verses, do recitations and pray. This has been a staple in our day, but there is an abrupt halt as we end Bible time and then “start” our school day. The transition is anything but smooth and it makes our day seem disjointed. Further more since my son in considered Lower Elementary for Montessori technically I should be teaching him the Theory of Evolution. I remove evolution from our curriculum because it does not line up with our Christian values. But the problem is that evolution is woven throughout the Montessori Elementary materials.
I spent hours trying to rewrite the “5 Great Lessons” that teach the coming of life, humanity, language and the world itself. I looked up Bible verses to support what I knew to be true. But it is exhausting trying to piecemeal in Christ into a story that he created but has been removed from. Remember earlier how I said I was weary. Part of the weariness was due to the fact that I couldn’t see the Lord in our day, except for the first 15 minutes. Where was the “Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in my heart”? The joyful school days I yearned for seemed elusive at best and a daydream at worst.
As we wrapped up this past school year and entered into Summer, I begged the Lord for something different.
Am I Asking For Too Much?
In looking for a joyful approach to home schooling was an asking for too much? Was it really possible to enjoy teaching my children? Could we transition from Bible time into other parts of our day can keep that spirit of peace and joy?
During one of my long chats with my sister, Charlotte Mason came up again. I was telling her that I didn’t think I could do another school year like the one we just finished. The thought of powering through was too overwhelming. Wasn’t there a better way to education my children. If I kept “following the child” as Maria Montessori suggested I was going to end up lost in the woods or better yet in a gator hole.
My sister calmly stated “yeah I understand, that’s why I’m doing Charlotte Mason this year.” Hmm Charlotte Mason, here that name was again. I thought it over then finally send her text, ” hey what are your top 3 Charlotte Mason websites you recommend?”. Before she could respond I had already started reading and downloading materials from Simple Charlotte Mason.
I watched a video about a day in the life of Charlotte Mason family. Once I witnessed how Bible time was integrated into each day as a necessity. How the children listened to read aloud daily as a part of their school day. That narration was used to assess the child’s attentiveness and focus. Multiple children could be brought into and out of the fabric of the school day seamlessly. lt was all I could do to keep from yelling “this is is!”. I’ve been so joyful just knowing that there is hope on the horizon.

What Do I Do Now
Since that moment of clarity, about three weeks ago, that was true answer to prayer I’ve done the following. Keep in mind I’m trying to learn as much as I can quickly because it’s August, and legally I need to begin this school year before October. I have a lot to learn in a short amount of time. That being said I am by no means trying to learn it all. I’m just trying to understand some of the why’s behind the philosophy. Here are the steps that I’ve taken to educate myself.
Resources
Curriculum Guide, reading schedule for each year, history of Charlotte Mason and some serious hand holding. All of this and more can be found at eh Ambleside Online website. There is a lot on this site so give yourself time to navigate and learn how it works. It’s not super refined but it has been the most valuable online resource I’ve found. These women have outlined poetry readings, music, composer and art studies for the nest twenty years. Really, I saw an art study for the year 2050 on their site. If you are looking for the original materials that Charlotte Mason used with her families you can find that on this site as well. The only drawback is that the materials need bolstering up for families of diverse ethnicities. But if you’ve been homeschooling for any length of time then you know that is our reality.
Booklists and Recommendations featuring diverse people
The “Charlotte Mason For All” podcasts has been so encouraging and inspiring. I want to meet these ladies in real life because they give the most genuine perspective of Charlotte Mason in their own homes and homes around the world. After listening to this podcast I feel like a Charlotte Mason education is possible for my children and I can be equipped to spread a rich feast for their mind, body, spirit and soul.
The video I referred to earlier in this post about a day in the life was created by Simply Charlotte Mason. It’s available as a free download on their website, you just need to setup an account.
“Inside a Charlotte Mason Homeschool” video
My sincere hope for you, is that you can find joy in your homeschool. If you are in a place that seems hopeless I would encourage you to take another look at your curriculum or philosophy. Perhaps things are misaligned, I know they were for our family and that was the source of the friction.
You are made for this mama, you have been called to this!
[…] school year we are using the free Ambleside online reading list and schedule (read more about this here). Their list is extensive and the living books look great. But as I added up the cost to build our […]