Summer is such a special time. After the constant growth and busy productivity of spring, summer is like a giant long sigh. The flowers give way to fruits and everything is green. Summer often feels like eternity- in the best way possible. Yet, much like any dream these few months also seem to pass very quickly, and we find ourselves waking as if coming out of a haze to the new responsibilities of the harvest and autumn's approach. But since we are here in the middle pf this season right now, put thoughts of the future aside for the moment and linger here by these shallow pools of reflected em ..read more

One of the questions I see and hear most frequently when I visit social media groups, discussion forums, or at in-person events for parents of young children, is “What can I be doing to make sure my child is really prepared for school?” Or if this group is a homeschooling group, the question is “how can I homeschool preschool?” So often these eager and excited parents are met with replies like, “just let them be children,” or just let them play.” While there is nothing wrong with this advice, it often leaves parents without the answers they need. Don’t get me wrong, as a homeschool parent who ..read more

In one of my recent posts, I wrote about how my core philosophy is gentle holistic learning. This is really simply put, believing that children learn best through opportunities to learn with their bodies and hearts as well as their minds, and that learning should be centered around the child’s development and interests. Today I want to talk about two approaches that fit really well with this philosophy and how I combine them: The Waldorf and Charlotte Mason homeschool approaches. There is a ton of overlap between these two homeschool approaches, it almost seems like they were designed to fit ..read more

If you are already homeschooling your children, I don’t think I need to tell you that there are a TON of resources out there. There are lots of different ways to approach homeschooling too. It can be downright overwhelming for anyone. When I was studying education I was able to learn about a lot of different kinds of educational philosophies and I started to really develop a sense of what mine was. I came to really believe children are capable of learning and constructing meaning from their environment (This is part of the constructivist theory). Learning about how children learn as I said in ..read more

A little over a month ago (I cannot believe that much time has passed already!) I wrote about how I integrate Charlotte Mason and the Waldorf philosophy, focusing on how I choose the right resources. I promised another post on how I teach lessons, and I want to make good on that, so here goes :) Learning is a Work of Heart Before I say what I have been doing, I want to add that as an educator, I am actively engaged in learning and growing myself, and my understanding of this is constantly evolving. I learned something new today that has already changed how I think about the main lesson. I was ..read more

The topic of today's post is something that is very near to me and really gets right to the heart of why I started This Lovely Day. For years the idea of allowing my children’s interest to drive our studies pulled at my heartstrings, but it seemed like every time I tried to make things more open-ended, it wouldn’t work. My children would end up sitting around looking lost, or worse, start to entertain themselves by getting into arguments or some kind of mischief. My oldest, who is highly driven and likes clear boundaries (checklists, fill-in-the-blanks sheets, etc.), would be frustrated. This ..read more

In a past blog post I talked about how we integrate Charlotte Mason and the Waldorf Philosophy into our homeschool Journey. For that post I mostly focused on what our daily Rhythm looks like as well as giving a brief introduction and overview of both the Charlotte Mason and Waldorf philosophy as I see them. For this post I’d like to get down to the practical nuts and bolts of what this actually looks like in our homeschool. Because there is so much to cover on this topic, I'm dividing this post into two parts. Part one will cover how I find quality homeschool resources that resonate with my o ..read more

Waldorf is a beautiful homeschool approach. Even if you don't homeschool Waldorf style one hundred percent of the time, there are so many enriching aspects of Waldorf education that can be integrated into just about homeschool approach. If you are a home educator who loves creating a beautiful homeschool environment, prioritizes nature and the arts, and tries to approach education in a holistic way, you have probably encountered Waldorf homeschool resources and ideas, and most likely you have been impressed by them. However, whether you have decided to Waldorf homeschool exclusively or have j ..read more

People decide to home educate for a variety of reasons. I personally came from a background in education. I worked in a variety of settings with both school agers and in early childhood education as a preschool teacher and director. During my own education and work journey, I had the opportunity to learn and study in depth how children grow and develop. I also had the opportunity to observe a variety of educational settings and approaches. One thing I heard over and over is how important social and emotional skills and parental involvement are to a child’s overall success in school and life ..read more

When my daughter and I made the choice to embark on a home education journey we talked about and looked into a variety of styles and methods, and the one that she liked the best was unschooling. I have to admit the idea scared me. I was coming from six years as a professional early childhood educator, and to me unschooling sounded a lot like days with no structure, no schedule, and no goals. I did a ton of research and after talking about the options we settled on doing at least some formal academics in case sometime in the future, she wanted to go back to school. In the year and half since sh ..read more