The First Week In Pictures

A Charlotte Mason Education: Year 7 and Year 5

Aug 30, 2024

Did you know Soul Munchies on Substack has a "How We Homeschool" section? Because these are messages I send out directly related to homeschooling, they don't get sent out to your email unless you request them. If you're here because of homeschooling, make sure you edit your settings and check the box for the How We Homeschool newsletter! I wish I could tell you our first week was full of smiles, but the truth is there were several bursts of tears as the days went by. It offered many opportunities to extend grace to ourselves and to one another, to re-evaluate whether or not my plans would work, and to hug each other tight and often. In the end, it was a successful week. And we're all looking forward to the many more that are to come. -

Crystal Rowe

I didn’t take official first day photos, so these images from our family photo session the night before will have to suffice. The older they get, the more they look like twins. We’re embarking on 7th Grade and 5th Grade this year and it promises to be a wild ride.

The first day started off okay. We did a huge rearrangement of our house this summer, so a lot of this week was trying to figure out how to make the new setup work for us. I’m so glad I snagged this table off Facebook Marketplace - it has certainly come in handy for things like Copywork and Math.

Getting back into the school routine can be quite the emotional roller coaster, but our wooded yard provides the perfect place to take a break and find a reset.

The front yard is also a great place to sit and read a book, as shown in this incredible artwork by my 12-year-old. I had no idea she could draw like this until last week. I think she has a gift.

As the week went on, we took more and more lessons outside. She read Braiding Sweetgrass on the new patio while I did some journaling in my Commonplace Book. This is the real beauty of a Charlotte Mason education—the reading, writing, and learning alongside one another. Most days it feels like a dream come true.

Mid-week, I realized I had no idea how to really teach writing composition, so I joined a friend for a webinar from Karen Glass. I feel so much more confident now that I have an idea of what steps to take. And I decided that every webinar should come with a martini.

Our new co-op doesn’t start until next week, which gave us a chance to ease into school with just our at-home subjects. I found we needed a lot of extra grace and transition time this week. Jumping back into school isn’t as easy as it was when they were younger! We finished our week with a fun cyanotype photo project, using pieces of nature we found in the yard.

One of the things I’ve wanted to do here on Substack is share a bit more about our homeschooling journey - especially now as the girls get older and I’m realizing I’m not a newbie at this anymore. I’ve learned over the last several months that I have a wealth of knowledge to share, so I’m hoping to drop a few more nuggets for you over the course of this year.

Until next time,