My name is April Scott and I am a homeschooling mom to three very opinionated and independent girls. Where are all my girl mamas?! I have been homeschooling, well, from the beginning I guess. From the day she was born that warm late September day, there weren’t too many days that I thought I’d send my firstborn to school; so the decision was quite easy, especially since she was still just 4 years old when Covid made landfall and the school systems went haywire. I began to informally school her the fall of 2020 when she was 4 and then 5 years old. So, I’ve been schooling for about 4 years, but teaching from 2015.

      My children are 9 (in two months), 7, and 2. The two older girls are very close, not only in age. But as friends – which is something my husband and I strongly encourage and facilitate. We believe that our children can and should learn how to be a friend to their sibling(s). On a daily basis, the older two come alongside the toddler, teaching her how not to ruin their magnet blocks creations, engaging her in a fun hide-and-seek game, or pretending with her in her play kitchen. Cultivating their friendships has been an important part of our parenting journey and has been foundational for the success of our homeschool.

      Because we have encouraged pretend play (more on that in a minute) so much, there is no shortage of imagination in our home. When children are given things like simple toys, outdoor equipment, or even a stack of blankets, they can transform the room to a wonderland and transport their minds to anywhere. Through this play, they can learn how to communicate, share, work together, imagine – the pros to this unlimited play are endless! If you do a simple internet search on the importance of pretend and Montessori play, you will return countless studies showing how play can set your child up for success.

      With this in mind, we incorporate a lot of play into our homeschool day! A new friend of mine recently introduced me to the term “Charlotte Mason-ish”. When she said that, it rang true in my mind as to how we operate our homeschool: lots of reading aloud, discovering, discussing, working together, and play. Our morning usually begins around 9 am with a coffee and Bible reading session. There’s usually blocks or small toys on the floor as we read and memorize Bible facts. We also use this time to read poetry, sing, and look at beautiful art. The children enjoy this morning time especially during Christmas when we sing Christmas carols and look at winter and Christmas-themed books. We are very fluid and mealtimes occur whenever we want, but as the new year approaches I’m beginning a new routine where food is mostly taken care of by me first thing in the morning so I don’t have to stop our progress to slice yet another apple. I am planning on doing the Simply Charlotte Mason history cycle this year and incorporate an artist study from that same time period. This curriculum is neat because it incorporates World and American History, Bible, and Geography. It inadvertently is a whole literature program because of all the neat books we get to explore! So, to build a good library of books, just check out some of what this curriculum suggests. My plan for this year, as it has been loosely in the past, is to begin this time of reading and map exploration as soon as morning time and breakfast are over. This will allow me to read to the toddler and continue to teach her to sit and play quietly while I read. This will hopefully have more benefits than just one! Snacks will be taken care of in Bento boxes that I prepared that morning so again, I’m not constantly in the kitchen. I don’t know about your children, but my kids always seem to be “hungry”. I recently read in a blog post from a very successful homeschool mom and content creator that she got her children Bento boxes and filled them up in the mornings with healthy snacks that her children didn’t have to ask her for – and I decided to incorporate this into my day as well. Wish me luck… From there, I will work to get the toddler down for a nap and continue with lessons in math and ELA, both curricula I get from The Good and the Beautiful. I will switch curriculum at some point in our homeschooling journey, but right now, my kids really respond to this program and I find it easy and enjoyable. 

      Phew! That really felt like a lot. But really, that’s just the morning and noonday! Of course, every day is different and brings a new set of challenges and obstacles. But we generally stick to our goals and incorporate extracurriculars to keep us going and excited to learn something new. We will have friends join us this year for a study of Claude Monet and watercolors. We will also incorporate piano and dance into our days once a week. Each child is allowed their preferred extracurricular (my children have chosen ballet and gymnastics for the last 4 years) as well as piano, which right now, is a non-negotiable (and they both enjoy it so we’re not ruining their love for it). Beyond this full day of schooling, the girls love to pretend what they hear in our literature reads and write during their spare time. They call it play, I call it learning! 

      It may seem like I have it all together and my kids are on the track for being world leaders one day; but really, we’re just living pretty simply and intentionally. We focus on family and work to create memorable days that encourage my girls to be friends for a lifetime, learn as much as they can from me, and most of all – to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.