admin – Charlotte Mason Philippines

Need Help Implementing CM?

January 23, 2022

When we first discovered the Charlotte Mason method, we were excited to try it out for our family. Everything about it appealed to me: the emphasis on nature study, the use of living books, letting the child narrate instead of requiring objective-type, memorization-dependent answers, the rich addition of music and art and handicraft. We slowly incorporated the different components to our firstborn’s homeschool, which began with a boxed curriculum bought from the U.S., while I continued learning more about the…

The Great Conversation with Art Study

September 28, 2021

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Picture Study

A Guest Post by Klaris Cabansal of Makata Life Journey The Prodigal Son by Rembrandt is an art piece my children studied last school year with the Charlotte Mason method. Art or picture study allows children to come into contact with art created by great minds. I have three children, all under the age of ten. At home, I usually allow the kids to feast on the picture themselves without my meddling or input. I am amused when I hear…

Help! My Kid Struggles with Narration

August 19, 2021

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Living Books, Narration

Help! My Kid Struggles With Narration! You’ve just read aloud a very satisfactory passage, enjoying yourself immensely in the friendly banter of the characters, and pause, mulling over the beauty of the scene in your mind. There were even a few thought-provoking lines you’re excited to jot down in your commonplace book later. “Wasn’t that nice,” you murmur to yourself. “I wish I can write like that.” And then you turn to your child and say, “So, what did you…

Life Like Water: A Nature Study Reflection

June 2, 2021

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Uncategorized

Life Like Water: A Nature Study Reflection (Guest Blog Post) For this week, I am proud to feature, as the very first guest blog post in this website, a fellow CM momma, Klaris Cabansal of Makata Life Journey. My husband and I have known Klaris and JR since we were all still single, Mark and me young working professionals, Klaris and JR still in college! Since then, we’ve had kids, all of whom love playing together, despite their being three…

How to Start Collecting Living Books

May 13, 2021

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Living Books, Reading

How to Start Collecting Living Books As the summer rolls around, everyone in the Philippines is either wrapping up on the previous school year’s lessons or starting to plan for the next school year. One of my new students for this year is a kindergarten boy whose mom is very excited to learn about Charlotte Mason, and who already hit the local Booksale to start building their collection. Over coffee, she let me go over her latest stash, to help…

But I’m Not a Reader Like You…

April 4, 2021

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Living Books

But I’m Not a Reader Like You… One of the most common arguments I face when people hear about the Charlotte Mason method is, “But what if I’m not a reader?” Granted, I myself have always loved reading, so I admit part of the appeal of the CM method to me really was the strong emphasis on plenty of reading. But do you know that most of the books that my boys are reading now, I’ve never read before either?…

Mother Culture: Continuous Growth as Moms

March 31, 2021

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Living Books, Mother Culture

Mother Culture: Continuous Growth as Moms This week, we had a small women’s breakfast time at a friend’s house. This friend recently adopted a toddler, and as is the case with most toddlers, the new life as a mom had quickly taken over her days. One of the first topics we talked about was toddler discipline, followed by our children’s eating habits and antics, different diaper and formula brands, and giving advice to a younger pregnant woman in the group,…

Maximizing Outdoor Time

March 27, 2021

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Nature Study

Maximizing Outdoor Time A couple of centuries before our time, Charlotte Mason adamantly encouraged parents to have their children spend several hours out-of-doors. We’ve tried to do that in our homeschool and family, even with the challenge of the scorching sun here in the Philippines: we might put in some outdoor play time in the early morning and late afternoon, or spend a morning walking by a river or playing on a park playground. Once in awhile, we would spend…

Hymns to Soothe the Heart

March 24, 2021

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Hymn Study

Hymns to Soothe the Heart When we started on the Charlotte Mason method with my first son, one of the things I loved was the fact that hymns were a mainstay. I got to buy a book from Booksale for P10 on Hymns by Aled Jones, and we happily set off to learn the songs by heart. When we finished all the hymns in the book, I resorted to using the free list on AmblesideOnline. Although it was very convenient,…

Nature Study: Sunbird Nest!

March 21, 2021

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Nature Study

Nature Study: Sunbird Nest! During the rainy weeks around January and February, we didn’t do much laundry at home. Imagine our surprise when we went back to our laundry area and found this: At first I thought it was just some random trash that got stuck at the end of our clothesline. But then my boys and I remembered that we’d been seeing an olive-backed sunbird or two flying around with some bits and pieces in its beak. (For newbies,…