Hey Friend! Sorry we’ve been a little MIA. ☺️ Life has been busy for the 4 of us in various ways. We appreciate the grace you’ve shown us during this time away. We’re happy to announce that we’re back for a new season and have some wonderful topics to share with you all, starting with one of our favorites: LIVING BOOKS! Join Min as she chats with Sarah Kim, one of the founders of Biblioguides - a brand new, online, living book search platform that has numerous features "to those who believe what you read is just as important as reading itself... Biblioguides gives you the resources and tools to discover the right book for the right person at the right moment." SHOW NOTES: "A good definition of love is sustained, compassionate attention." -- John Muir Laws "Knowledge is not instruction, it is not information, it is not scholarship, it is not a well stored memory." (What is Knowledge?, by Mary Hardcastle, Parents' Review) “Knowledge is not a store but, rather, a state that a person remains within or drops out of.” (What is Knowledge?, by Mary Hardcastle, Parents' Review) "Life in a state of knowledge – is it to be a pleasant saunter? You know enough about life and relationships to deny that. No one can enter the state of knowledge or advance an inch without two things, strenuous effort and reverence. When these two things are present there is joy and delight. I think the state of knowing is man in his wholeness wholly living." (What is Knowledge?, by Mary Hardcastle, Parents' Review) The CMEC kindly made available this Parents' Review article, click here to access it. Resources Mentioned Biblioguides Life-giving Motherhood
Welcome to our last episode in this first set of CM Mamas From Around the World! Min had the honor of chatting it up with Amanda Coleman, a Charlotte Mason homeschool mom of 5 beautiful children, and together with her creative husband, a missionary to Ethiopia. As Amanda shares the beauties and challenges of learning and living in their home away from home, may your heart be encouraged to know our God is always at work, raising up a generation after His own heart. WHERE TO FIND AMANDA: Subscribe to their prayer newsletter by emailing ethiopia4610@gmail.com. Find their new website at BlackBlessings.com, designed to educate, inspire, and mobilize Black Americans for cross-cultural missions. RESOURCES MENTIONED: Home Education, Vol. 1 Amber Johnston's blog and Amazing Africa pack: HeritagemMom.com Language Learning resource that I referenced: CherrydalePress.com ADelectableEducation.com A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay Amblesideonline.com SimplyCharlotteMason.com and Charlotte Mason Together Retreat Life-GivingMotherhood.com Prayer in the Night, by Tish Harrison Warren
Welcome back to our Charlotte Mason mamas around the globe series! Today Erika gets to interview a very good friend of ours all the way from the UK! Alberta Stevens is a proud boy mom (or mum, as she would say it), who beautifully implements the Charlotte Mason philosophy in her multicultural home in London. Originally from Sierra Leone, she’s passionate about spreading a life-giving and culturally diverse feast to all families through the wonderful resources she creates, as well through her podcast, "Homegrown Sunshine." She is a kindred spirit who inspires us with her work for the Lord. We are honored to have her share with us today. WHERE TO FIND ALBERTA STEVENS Instagram @homegrown.sonshine Website: https://homegrownsonshine.co.uk Podcast: Homegrown Sunshine (wherever you get your podcasts) QUOTES "In my home, there's 3 cultures, really. It's British, it's Sierra Leonean, but it's predominantly Christian. That is the biggest part of my identity and Charlotte Mason gives me the space, the tools, the words and, also, the 'how to' to make those things come together and make a life out of it." PRINCIPLES 1. Children are born persons. 17. The way of the will: Children should be taught, (a) to distinguish between 'I want' and 'I will.' (b) That the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts from that which we desire but do not will. (c) That the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing, entertaining or interesting. (d) That after a little rest in this way, the will returns to its work with new vigour. (This adjunct of the will is familiar to us as diversion, whose office it is to ease us for a time from will effort, that we may 'will' again with added power. The use of suggestion as an aid to the will is to be deprecated, as tending to stultify and stereotype character, It would seem that spontaneity is a condition of development, and that human nature needs the discipline of failure as well as of success.) PNEU MOTTE: I am, I can, I ought, I will. SCRIPTURES "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." Romans 7:15 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39 RESOURCES MENTIONED Leah Boden "The Well-Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer Ambleside Online "Teaching from Rest" by Sarah McKenzie Alberta's blog post "DIVERSITY"
Meet our first “Charlotte Mason Mama Around the Globe,” Angelique Knaup! Angelique is a globe-trotting wife and mother of three, currently living in her homeland of Zimbabwe. Her two older children have already graduated from their Charlotte Mason homeschool. She is homeschooling her youngest in high school. Join Mariana as we get a peek into God’s call upon Anglelique’s colorful, rich life of “spreading the feast” with her community in Zimbabwe. FIND ANGELIQUE on Instagram @angeli.knaup Resources mentioned: Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer MaCaulay Ambleside Online Helping Hand Mind’s More Awake by Anne White Brandy Vencel’s Start Here: A Journey Through Charlotte Mason’s 20 Principles Quotes: Principle 4: These principles are limited by the respect due to the personality of children, which must not be encroached upon whether by the direct use of fear or love, suggestion or influence, or by undue play upon any one natural desire. Principle 12: "Education is the Science of Relations"; that is, that a child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts: so we train him upon physical exercises, nature lore, handicrafts, science and art, and upon many living books, for we know that our business is not to teach him all about anything, but to help him to make valid as many as may be of— "Those first-born affinities "That fit our new existence to existing things." In Vol. 6 p. 129, Charlotte wrote that, “the one achievement possible and necessary for every man is character; and character is as finely wrought metal beaten into shape and beauty by the repeated and accustomed action of will. We who teach should make it clear to ourselves that our aim in education is less conduct than character; conduct may be arrived at, as we have seen, by indirect routes, but it is of value to the world only as it has its source in character.” When writing about the will, Charlotte frequently refers to Joshua 24:15 '... choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ She applies it to the thoughts that we allow in, thoughts that will either serve ourselves, the gods of this earth or the Lord! “There are two services open to us all, the service of God, (including that of man) and the service of self. If our aim is just to get on, 'to do ourselves well,' to get all possible ease, luxury and pleasure out of our lives, we are serving self and for the service of self no act of will is required. Our appetites and desires are always at hand to spur us into the necessary exertions. But if we serve God and our neighbour, we have to be always on the watch to choose between the ideas that present themselves.” Vol. 6 p. 135 ”We owe it to (the children) to initiate an immense number of interests. Thou hast set my feet in a large room; should be the glad cry of every intelligent soul. Life should be all living, and not merely a tedious passing of time; not all doing or all feeling or all thinking––the strain would be too great–– but, all living; that is to say, we should be in touch wherever we go, whatever we hear, whatever we see, with some manner of vital interest.” Vol. 3 p. 170
We are about to embark on a journey around the world. Introducing a new series called “Charlotte Mason Mamas Around the Globe!" Have you thought of the many families who live all over the world who, like you, are working to implement Miss Mason’s method of education in their homes? How do they make it work? How can a CM education be relevant and applicable in different countries and cultures? Is it possible to use this philosophy of education if you are not native to the country in which you currently live? Our hope, as we talk to fellow CM mamas in various nations, is to explore some of those questions and also to celebrate the diversity of the body of Christ. We pray you will be encouraged! “We cannot live sanely unless we know that other peoples are as we are with a difference, that their history is as ours, with a difference, that they too have been represented by their poets and their artists, that they too have their literature and their national life.” ~ Charlotte Mason, Vol.6
Welcome back to our “Many Faces of CM Mamas” series! Join Mariana as she chats with our friend, SarahRuth, about the importance of honoring family traditions in the atmosphere of our homes and how SarahRuth honors her heritage as a Messianic Jew within her family culture. Originally from NYC, SarahRuth is a former public school educator who wrote her final thesis on the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education. She is mom to three boys and an adventurer with her husband. Together, they enjoy the Appalachian mountains of Georgia where they reside. We pray you will be encouraged! Come on on over to CharlotteMasonForAll.com or on Instagram @CharlotteMasonForAll to let us know. Find SarahRuth on Instagram @kindle_togetherness.
Welcome back to our “Many Faces of CM Mamas” series! In this episode, Erika is going to speak to a mama who demonstrates that the Charlotte Mason philosophy is not just for homeschoolers. Marina Mason is an educator in a public school in the South Bronx, which is one of the poorest districts in the United States. In addition, Marina is the worship leader at our church, alongside her husband, who’s the associate pastor at Elements Church. She’s part of our leadership as well as one of our Sunday School teachers. On top of all of these ministries, Marina is also a mama of 6, doing her best to implement Miss Mason’s philosophy with her traditionally schooled children. Her friendship and encouragement are such a blessing in my life, and I pray the same will happen with you, friend, as you get to know Marina in today’s episode. Erika Alicea
Join Min and Mariana on a special episode where they share about Life-Giving Motherhood, a community of Gospel-reliant moms, intent on being disciples and disciplers of Christ, who have united to answer the call of raising up the next generation in accordance with God's Word, by cultivating the spiritual disciplines lived out by Christ, and by replacing unproductive habits with life-giving, productivity-boosting habits, which enable us to hone our ability to be watchful, praying gatekeepers of our homes, and ultimately, hear our King say when He returns, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” JOIN us at Life-GivingMotherhood.com. Curious to know what this community is all about and what are we doing together as we pursue life-giving habits? Listen in as we share what's on the inside, plus testimonies from some of our sisters. LGMM's doors are open right now until 6/14 midnight ET USA, and you're invited to join us for: - Step by step, month to month help in building your strength of will toward SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES + life-giving HABITS as a disciple of Christ - Grow in understanding + habits as the FIRST AGENT in your child’s education, ordained by the Creator Himself - Celebrate with like-minded, generous sisters in Christ, all over the world, as we PRAY & FAST together for our children and our marriages TOGETHER, as we hold each other up, pray for, and cheer one another on, we will see the Gospel spread - home to home - to the ends of the earth. . FOR THE KING and His Renown, ♥️Min & Mariana Life-givingmotherhood.com
THE BEAUTIFUL FACES OF CM MAMAS series continues with Annette Dionisio - "Will CM methods work for my child with special challenges?" This might be a question that has been asked when considering a CM education for a precious child with special challenges. Join Mariana as she speaks with Annette, our dear IRL friend and a CM homeschooling mama who is devoted to providing a Charlotte Mason home and homeschool for her 3 young children, one of whom has special challenges arising from ADHD, and various processing and developmental delays. We are deeply thankful to Annette for sharing her journey with us - both the heartbreaking difficulties, as well as the beautiful triumphs, as she intentionally implements the Charlotte Mason philosophy and methods. “Mothers owe a 'thinking love' to their Children.––"The mother is qualified," says Pestalozzi, "and qualified by the Creator Himself, to become the principal agent in the development of her child; ... and what is demanded of her is––a thinking love ... God has given to the child all the faculties of our nature, but the grand point remains undecided––how shall this heart, this head, these hands be employed? to whose service shall they be dedicated? A question the answer to which involves a futurity of happiness or misery to a life so dear to thee. Maternal love is the first agent in education." "We are waking up to our duties and in proportion as mothers become more highly educated and efficient, they will doubtless feel the more strongly that the education of their children during the first six years of life is an undertaking hardly to be entrusted to any hands but their own. And they will take it up as their profession––that is, with the diligence, regularity, and punctuality which men bestow on their professional labours. That the mother may know what she is about, may come thoroughly furnished to her work, she should have something more than a hearsay acquaintance with the theory of education, and with those conditions of the child's nature upon which such theory rests.” - Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, p. 2 Resources mentioned and others Annette has found helpful over the years: A Delectable Education ( ADelectableEducation.com. Check out podcast #57 on Charlotte Mason and Special Needs!!) Charlotte Mason Soiree (on FB, IG, and www) Life-Giving Motherhood Membership (life-giving-motherhood.mn.co) Early Intervention (search for your state's agency) www.ADDitudeMag.com www.chadd.org Child with ADHD- Now What? (Facebook support group for parents www.facebook.com/groups/adhdwhatnow/) For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay Charlotte Mason's six volume series on Home Education Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay Clarkson With Sally Clarkson The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder by Carol Stock Kranowitz Finally Focused: The Breakthrough Natural Treatment Plan for ADHD That Restores Attention, Minimizes Hyperactivity, and Helps Eliminate Drug Side Effects by James Greenblatt M.D. and Bill Gottlieb CHC WHERE TO FIND ANNETTE: Search for "Annette Dionisio" on Facebook OR if you're a member of Life-GivingMotherhood.com, you'll find her there as a member of the Support Team.
THE MANY BEAUTIFUL FACES OF CM MAMAS Today's episode is for those mamas who may not have started homeschooling from the beginning. Maybe you're struggling wiht the transition from traditional school to homeschool or maybe you're contemplating removing your child from their current school in orer to home education them. I've been there before and it is by no means an easy endeavor or transition. Our guest today has also been down this road before, which is one of the may things that drew me to her. We'd like to introduce you to Monica Erwin, who some of you may recognize from Instgram as @sweetwaterhomeschool, and she has done an amazing job with her kids using Miss Mason's philosophy. We pray you will be encouraged! Come on on over to CharlotteMasonForAll.com or on Instagram @CharlotteMasonForAll to let us know. For the King and His kids, Erika Alicea
THE MANY BEAUTIFUL FACES OF CM MAMAS With all the beauty motherhood and homeschooling has to offer, there are moments when life doesn't go according to plan. But God's grace is sufficent and helps guide us through those trying times. Join Erika as she interviews Melissa Weed, a CM homeschooling mama who is currently battling cancer. We pray you will be encouraged! Come on on over to CharlotteMasonForAll.com or on Instagram @CharlotteMasonForAll to let us know. "Principle 5. Therefore, we are limited to three educational instruments —the atmosphere of environment, the discipline of habit, and the presentation of living ideas." The P.N.E.U. Motto is: “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.” Free Recitation help from Maria Bell: https://sageparnassus.com/free-recitation-helps Melissa can be found on Instagram @slowscenesofhome
THE MANY BEAUTIFUL FACES OF CM MAMAS Have you wondered if working outside the home while homeschooling can be done? Join Min as she interviews Stephanie Newcomb, a CM homeschooling mama of two who has been working all the while as a realtor. Listen in as Steph shares her journey, what her days look like, what she would say to her younger self, and more. We pray you will be encouraged! Come on on over to CharlotteMasonForAll.com or on Instagram @CharlotteMasonForAll to let us know! Where to Find Steph: Instagram @intentionalgirl @realtorstephnewcomb Facebook @stephnewcombrealtor Resources mentioned: www.theCMEC.org www.amblesideonline.org www.agentlefeast.com www.pimsleur.com (For French language lessons)
“It’s been quite the journey these last 6 years with my dad battling cancer. But God’s mercy and grace was in every moment.” A few weeks after recording this episode, Erika’s dad went Home to meet his Faithful Father. This season is dedicated to Erika's loving Papi, Frank Sanchez. ——— Welcome to the series "The Many Faces of CM Mamas!" Miss Mason said, “[I]n the faith… mothers work wonders once they are convinced that wonders are demanded of them." (Vol.1, p.44) There is wisdom in her words. We find ourselves in many different scenarios as we “work wonders” when it comes to our children’s education, such as: - homeschooling and working from home or outside the home - caring for a sick parent or relative while homeschooling - transitioning from traditional school to homeschool - battling a chronic illness while homeschooling - home-educating a child with special challenges - public-schooling moms striving to "spread the feast" in their home culture Can you relate to any of those scenarios? In this series we’ll be talking to moms who display the many beautiful faces of our CM community! None of our differences – even combined – can overcome who unites us: OUR LORD JESUS; not even when changes arise and the Lord calls us to other commitments, like He has done with our precious sister, Simone. We have been blessed with Simone for our first 2 seasons. The Lord has now called her to other commitments. We are grateful for all the encouragement and insight she has shared with us here. We send her off with love and blessing!
It is an absolute pleasure to introduce you to one of the gems at Elements Church where Erika serves as Children’s Ministry Director: Damion Sanders. Damion is one of the leaders at Elements, serving in just about every ministry they have. In particular, Dame is part of the worship team, in which he worships through song and rap. He preaches periodically and is also a Sunday School teacher. Although Elements is not a big church, they always say they’re small but mighty, and Dame is a huge part of that “mighty” factor. We pray you’re encouraged as you hear Damion’s story of how a Charlotte Mason education has changed his entire way of thinking as both father and Sunday School teacher. Heart of Dakota https://heartofdakota.com/ Matthew 19:14 "Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" Parent's Review Article on Sunday School. https://charlottemasonpoetry.org/sunday-schools/ Min's interviews with ADE: http://www.adelectableeducation.com/2018/04/episode-122-cm-non-homeschoolers/ and https://www.adelectableeducation.com/2019/05/cm-sunday-school/ https://simplycharlottemason.com/ https://charlottemasoncityliving.com/deschooling-10-tips-on-transitioning-from-traditional-school-to-homeschool/ Damion's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damionbsanders/
Join Erika and Mariana in a delightful conversation on how Erika started implementing CM's method in her own Sunday School. Erika shares about how her teachers came on board and how the children in her church have enjoyed their Sunday School lessons, including narration, handicrafts and much more. We hope you'll be encouraged by Erika's story! Resources Mentioned Gospel Vision For Children Conference at Pascack Bible Church A Delectable Education Charlotte Mason Poetry ESV Illuminated Bible A Charlotte Mason Sunday School YEAR 1 curriculum on CharlotteMasonForAll.com is coming soon!
Join our own Min Hwang as she shares the "what" and "how" of her church's Children's Sunday School hour. In addition, she answers a few of the frequently asked questions that have been posed to her over the last several years. Resources mentioned: Gospel Vision For Children Conference at Pascack Bible Church, NJ A Delectable Education Charlotte Mason Poetry A Charlotte Mason Sunday School YEAR 1 curriculum on CharlotteMasonForAll.com is coming soon!
Welcome back, dear sisters! We're so happy to be with you for Season 2 of the Charlotte Mason for All Podcast! And we're super excited to introduce our new co-cost, LaShawne Thomas, a former Navy Pediatrician turned Navy wife and full-time home-educator. LaShawne truly loves spreading the feast of ideas found in the Charlotte Mason method within her home and with other families as the philosophy touches not only the “three R’s” (reading, writing & arithmetic), but all of life. We're blessed to have her share her experience and wisdom with us at CMFA! Min, Erika, and Mariana also give some updates on their latest projects, including: a brand new multicultural artist study a new Portuguese publishing company in Brazil specializing in living books CM Sunday School resources the Charlotte Mason Tool Kit - a valuable aid to walk you through the basics of Charlotte Mason homeschooling We're honored to be journeying with you again for another new season! Our Father is so good and faithful! For the King and His kids, Erika, Min, LaShawne, & Mariana RESOURCES: CharlotteMasonForAll.com Life-giving Motherhood A Delectable Education Charlotte Mason Soiree Art of Color Study
Welcome back and thank you for joining us as we wrap up our mother culture series. This is Erika and we have a special guest we’d like to introduce you to who is a dear friend of ours. Her name is Ana Vargas, and she is the Lead Moderator on the Support Team of Life-Giving Motherhood. I met Ana my first year homeschooling. At that time, she was already a powerhouse for the Lord, running the children’s ministry at her church as well as a co-op for homeschooling families. But there was a longing for more for her children and she found it when she learned about Miss Mason. She’s currently co-leading the Charlotte Mason book club for our local area of the Bronx in NYC as well as Westchester County, just outside of the city. Be encouraged as she gives her testimony on how God has been working in her recently to cultivate life-giving habits into her home. Find Ana on Instagram @learning_to_feast
Mariana and Min would like to extend an invitation to a special community - OFF of social media - with like-minded, Gospel-reliant mothers from around the world. Listen in as they share the vision, mission, and description of this unique space in the online world. To learn more or join go to Life-givingmotherhood.com. We hope to see you there, friend! (Doors close on March 14th Midnight ET (USA) - Afterwards, there will be a place to join the Waiting List.) For our King and His renown, Mariana, Simone, Erika, and Min
With all that is expected of us as mothers on a daily basis, is time with God wasted time? Join me as I share what God spoke to my heart on the necessity of my quiet time with Him and the impact it had on my child (or what I was modeling for my child). For the King and His kids, Erika Alicea, Charlotte Mason City Living