Over-analysis and examination steals all the joy from the beautiful words from good poetry. Charlotte Mason’s approach is vastly different. Good poetry reaches the heart in a way few other words can. It’s amazing how deeply a well-crafted phrase from a thoughtful poem can shape our lives! As Charlotte said, “Poetry is a criticism of life; so it is, both a criticism and an inspiration; and most of us carry in our minds tags of verse which shape our conduct more than we know”. We are doing our children a great service when we nourish their minds and equip their hearts with good poetry. Here’s how.

You can use 1 x 1 Lego bricks for math. This pre-multiplication activity is great for understanding grouping.

The mission of ArtChallenge is to motivate individuals to take action, have a positive art experience, and to develop the "can do" spirit, which soon becomes a way of life, benefiting mental health and human achievement. Entrants come up with a stained glass design on paper.

The International Family Film Festival offers a kids film competition, designed to promote and encourage the creation and sharing of family film product through film exhibition, professional and children's hands-on workshops, seminars, forums and engaging post-film discussions. Film competition categories are individual or class projects for grades 3-6, 7-9, and 10-12. Film categories include Drama, Comedy, Animation-Computer & Animation-Classic, Documentary, and Educational. Final projection film/video has to be on VHS.

Patterns are all around us, from the clothing we wear to the repeating patterns found in nature and everyday routine. Patterning is also a basic math skill upon which many mathematical concepts are based. Times tables, addition and skip counting all require an understanding of and proficiency in patterning. In preschool, identifying and creating patterns is just the beginning of the mastery of life-long mathematical skills.

This collection of online games offers math games for grades 1-6.

The Civil War (1861-1865) remains the central, most defining event in American history. Richmond, Virginia, was at the heart of the conflict. As the industrial and political capital of the Confederacy, Richmond was the physical and psychological prize over which two mighty American armies contended in bloody battle from 1861 to 1865. At stake were some of the founding principles of the United States as the growing nation divided over the existence and expansion of slavery. Only after the new Confederacy fired on a federal fort in Charleston harbor and Lincoln had called for troops to preserve the Union, did Virginia join the Confederacy. As war began, neither side anticipated the brutal clashes and home front destruction that brought death or injury to more than one million Americans and devastation to a broad landscape, much of it in Virginia. Today, the park preserves more than 1400 acres of Civil War resources in nine units plus the main visitor center at the famous Tredegar Iron Works. The Chimborazo Visitor Center houses a medical museum.

This is a list for homeschooling mothers; specifically those using Charlotte Mason's approach, to broaden their knowledge and horizons by reading some of the classic books that Charlotte Mason recommended and by listening to classical music.

This article by American Psychological Association Monitor staff writer Bridget Murray, details how psychologists look at families that have chosen to school their children at home. It is a good example of the negative stereotypes and biases towards homeschoolers that can be found in mainstream society. This is a negative critical look at homeschooling, with a bias on looking at what is considered by the educational and medical establishment as the sheltered nature of homeschooling, perceived lack of exposure to diversity, and lack of participation in greater society. This attitude clearly contradicts the experiences, research, and results that the homeschooling community has seen for decades.