It's An Atmosphere - Charlotte Mason Ideas in Our Homeschool

The upcoming edition of the Charlotte Mason Carnival is focusing on the theme:

Education is an atmosphere....

I have been pondering this idea all week and it finally came to me this afternoon what those words mean in our family.

This atmosphere is not the books, texts, notebook pages, the supplies, or the furniture of our home. The atmosphere is like the air we breathe...invisible, intangible, and yet palpable in the heart.

So many times we dwell on the minutia of our homeschooling and it doesn't occur to us until well along in our homeschooling journey that the atmosphere is the most important aspect of our attempts at educating our children.

I am preparing my children to prepare themselves for whatever their futures hold for them. I cannot look into a magic mirror to see what their adult lives will hold as far as job opportunities, family obligations, their ministry. I aim to prepare them to be great readers and thinkers, people who can self-educate and adapt to what they need to do in order to make their lives fit God's plan for them.

Side thought: I have been thinking about how the world has changed since I graduated from high school and I would have never in my wildest George Jetson dreams thought we would have all the technological gadgets and internet opportunities that we have today. The truth is that when I graduated from high school (over 30 years ago) I was not prepared for the world of 2011. Over the years, I needed to self-educate and keep learning or be left behind. Even my firefighter husband uses technology today that did not even exist back when he graduated from college. He is constantly learning new things and adapting.  This is something we need to prepare our children for and this will come from good habits and a true learning atmosphere.

What Does Our Atmosphere Look Like?

I can help them acquire good habits while they live at home. I can stimulate a love for beautiful things and an appreciation for God's creation. I can give them moral guidance with the help of the Bible and great examples from the past and present day. I can expect them to be good communicators in speech and writing. I can make our home a fun and interesting place for them to feel safe and loved and needed.

The atmosphere of the home is what nurtures them on the inside and helps shape who they are as they grow.

Something else you might like to read...
A great resource that I have referred to many times in my own personal reading is the Education Is ebook from Simply Charlotte Mason. This is a quick easy read but it will give you lots to work on in your home. Thanks Sonya.


Something else that has had me thinking this week...

If you would like to read a special entry from someone who has caught my attention in the blogging world, pop over to Amy's blog at Raising Arrows and read her entry, Three Attributes for a Happy Family.  I really think that the three things she lists are right on target for making an atmosphere of learning and love in a family. Thanks Amy.