On Starting Well

The Philosophy Issue

The beginning of a new year always gets me thinking a little more deeply and in regards to homeschooling, this leads me to philosophy.

You will live what you believe, for the most part, at least. This means the most effective way to change things in your life is to believe about them differently. No, this is not some wonky “believe and you’ll become” message; it’s a very practical first step to shaping the homeschool you want.

What is education? What are your family values? What type of family culture are you working to create? What type of people do you hope to help your kids become?

Mark Twain once famously said, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” Education means so much more than curriculum; it is the cultivation of a person and a philosophy of education needs to reflect the type of person you hope to help your child become (and the person you are working to become, for that matter).

Some of our family’s answers to those questions look like this:

“We keep Christ at the center."

“Rinnas are readers.”

“Never be within doors when you can rightly be without.” - Charlotte Mason

“Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.” - Charlotte Mason

“Hard work is highly satisfying.”

“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” - Socrates

“One activity at a time.”

“Just try.”

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - commonly attributed to William Butler Yeats but most agree it wasn’t him. (I still can’t find accurate attribution, sorry.)

“Pre-school, not preschool.”

“EZ+1” - Andrew Pudewa

“There is no education but self-education.” - Charlotte Mason

“For the mind is capable of dealing with only one kind of food; it lives, grows and is nourished upon ideas only.” - Charlotte Mason

“Children are born persons.” - Charlotte Mason

Because I believe these things and I teach these things to my kids, our homeschool reflects these values. Not perfectly, but most days. Our faith, good books, being outdoors, hard work…a quick glance at the quotes and you can guess some of our family’s top values.

Our daily and weekly routines, the books we read, the shows we watch, the groups we join or do not join, the trips we take, the activities we participate in…these all pass through the filter of our philosophy. When I fail to do this I can tell because there will be tension or friction in our homeschool, and therefore our home. A disturbance in the force, if you will.

A homeschool philosophy is paramount because it prevents you from getting bogged down by the ever-growing availability of options.

Which curriculum? Which style? Which co-op/group?

Well, which one aligns with your philosophy?

A philosophy is a living, breathing, and ever-developing thing; it is the beating heart of your homeschool. It not only keeps you from becoming distracted, but allows you to do what you are trying to do.

The quote by minimalist Joshua Becker applies here:

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.

Likewise, having a solid homeschool philosophy allows “the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.”

What’s great about philosophy is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel; plenty of people over the years have come up with wise words you can borrow but be sure you choose phrases and ideologies that ring true for you. As you can see from my (not exhaustive) list, Charlotte Mason has been a huge, if not overwhelming, influence in our homeschool because as I read her volumes, I found myself resonating with so much of what she said.

Over the last decade, I have collected ideas from people in the education community who have helped me shape my philosophy and I’d like to point you towards some of their resources today. They are listed in no particular order of importance and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some, but it’ll give you a good start to follow some of these rabbit trails.

Resources*

All six of Charlotte Mason’s volumes, but especially this one

The Son-Rise Program, especially this book and this episode and this episode

Simply Charlotte Mason, especially the podcast

Ambleside Online

Sally Clarkson, especially this book and this one

Cindy Rollins, especially her podcast

Institute for Excellence in Writing, especially the podcast

Read Aloud Revival, especially the podcast and this book

Wild + Free, especially their conference, content bundles, and this book

1000 Hours Outside, especially the podcast

Modern Miss Mason, especially her book

The Literary Life podcast

Sal Khan’s book, The One Room Schoolhouse

John Taylor Gatto’s book, Dumbing Us Down

Angela Hanscom’s book, Balanced and Barefoot

Anthony Esolen’s book, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child

Gladys Hunt’s books, Honey for a Child’s Heart and Honey for a Teen’s Heart

Susan Wise Bauer’s book, Rethinking School

Louisa May Alcott’s books, Little Women and Little Men

L.M. Montgomery’s book, Anne of Green Gables

What’s New

• I’ve moved my monthly newsletter to Substack and I’m really excited about this platform. As a current subscriber, this doesn’t really change much on your end but I thought I’d let you know. If you aren’t a subscriber yet, I’d love to have you in the community.

• No new podcast episode this month but enjoy this oldie but goodie: Homeschool Rhythms: Morning Time

• If you haven’t purchased My Timeline Book, January is a great time to grab it!

• Come visit me on Instagram»

We get snow about once every year or two in N.AL so when we do it’s a really big deal.

Till next time,

Cindy :)

*Many of the resources contain affiliate links. If you purchase an affiliate product, your price does not increase but I do get a tiny "thank you" portion from the company for recommending their products. I only have an affiliate relationship with products I use and love.