Productive Afternoons in Charlotte Mason Homeschooling 

This is what we do as well!

Exactly what I came to Comments to say!! We live in Arkansas now, where summers are hot and HUMID! And without central air conditioning. Even with 3 window A/C units and a dehumidifier, it is still quite warm and humid inside the house, and very hot and humid outside. Earlier in the morning is when you go out to feed the chickens and other animals and to tend to the garden, as well as mowing, and building and fixing fences, coops, high tunnels, and garden beds. Not to mention riding bikes and playing outdoor games. Who wants to do these at 2 pm when it's 100° with 60% humidity?! In some climates, it really makes sense to do outdoor activities in the morning during the summer and sit and do book work in the afternoon.

Is your son still using his list?

How old is your son? I love that response! ♥️♥️♥️

The Girl At The Front Desk same same same!

Me too!!!

Lauren Goodwin I so agree! I’m a single mom and super detail oriented and this helps me so much and makes me feel so calm about it all

You garden in the afternoon?! You definitely don't live in Arkansas! 😆 I'm originally from Minnesota. Arkansas summers are very hard to get accustomed to. 🥵

Couldn't agree more!

Some one said she slips her day. In summer they go out in the morning and school in afternoon.

One of the great things about homeschooling is our ability to be flexible with our schedules!

Great idea!

I live in Yuma, it is hard for me to switch it up, lol. I prefer to do school work in morning; but the hot months make that unbearable, :) So we schedule the mornings for Nature walks too :)

The sample time table Sonya looked at has Charlotte’s students (approx. grades 7-9) starting at 9:00 and going until 1:00 with no lunch break and one 10 min. slot for “play.” So you could look at it as a total of about 4 hours of school work with a 10-minute break. Depending on how long your breaks and lunch are, you’re probably very close to that summary.

@@SimplyCharlotteMason thank you very much :)

Hi Dee. Attention is a habit like any other that needs training and effort at any age. You will want to make sure that you have a discussion with your middle school kiddo about the importance of attention, provide examples of when it has helped as well as when the lack of it caused a problem, make sure you are varying lessons so that their mind is being challenged and not getting tired of one effort, and determine consequences for a lack of intention. Some may be natural while others may be imposed by you and your husband. It is important that prior to enforcing a consequence, you have a discussion with your kiddo and let him know what the consequences will be. We've recently started a new series on Habit Q & A. Working on habits with older children is a topic Sonya will cover in the series. You'll want to make sure to watch for future episodes: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/series/habits-q-a/

Our Laying Down the Rails and Laying Down the Rails for Children can be extremely helpful to families who want to focus on single habits (as Charlotte recommended). Laying Down the Rails brings to the reader all Charlotte had to say concerning habits in an organized fashion as well as provides encouragement. Laying Down the Rails for Children creates lessons for you to present to your children over time to help work on and reinforce the habit being worked on: simplycharlottemason.com/store/laying-down-the-rails-resources/

Hi, Thank you for joining us! Charlotte Mason believed that children should have a "quiet growing time" in their early childhood. She did not require formal lessons of children younger than six years old. That being said, there is plenty to do during that time and you can certainly teach your child things informally as they are interested. Here is a link with some recommendations for the preschool and kindergarten years. simplycharlottemason.com/planning/preschool-guide/ Additionally, you may be interested in SCM's subscription box "Our Preschool Life" which helps guide you through implementing Charlotte Mason's methods with supplies that are sent right to your door every month. Here is a link if you are interested in reading more about this wonderful resource. ourpreschool.life/

In "How to Finish Lessons by Lunch," Sonya talked about customizing your schedule to fit your family during this season of life. She gave three basic CM principles that should be taken into consideration when building your schedule, whatever time of day it happens to be. Hopefully that episode will give you some ideas. simplycharlottemason.com/blog/how-to-finish-lessons-by-lunch/