Goss Homeschool Academy

  A Book of Centuries is part of a Charlotte Mason education where students keep a record of important people, places, and events throughout history. For the past 7 years we have done a family notebook based on the Simply Charlotte Mason Book of Centuries. (Download it for free here!) I decided I wanted to have more of a keepsake book for my children in a more compact size. I developed this hardback version of a Book of Centuries that is only 6x8" instead of the typical 8.5x11" size. It's designed to have 1000 years per page for ancient times, 100 years per page for the majority of centuries, and then 25 years per page once we get to the 20th century. The book moves to 10 years a page in the year 2000 and gives space for entries up to 2050. After our entries tonight I'm glad I went with this size! It seems to be a perfect fit for my kids! I designed two covers: A floral front:  https://amzn.to/3YcvIww And a travel front:  https://amzn.to/454oxsS They both have the sam...

I have been enjoying my summer preparing and planning for Form 3. We follow Charlotte Mason's method of education in our homeschool but I piece it together through community opportunities and the books that I really want to use for certain subjects! There is nothing wrong with going with an already planned curriculum like Ambleside Online, Simply Charlotte Mason, A Gentle Feast, or others.... but for our family I like to know that what I plan and use will be the right fit. If you've seen any of my other planning posts you know that I use the three divisions of Knowledge of God, Knowledge of Man, Knowledge of the Universe to categorize our subjects. Charlotte Mason's Volume 3 and Volume 6 give a detailed glimpse of all the subjects in a feast! It can be overwhelming to say the least! ( Here is chapter 10 of Volume 6 ) We don't always get every subject in every week but I do try to make sure the principles and the why behind each subject is spread out on our "table...

  Earlier today I posted about our science plans for the 2023-2024 school year ( check them out here! ) - in this post I will share our plans for several of the Knowledge of Man topics that we will cover in a small group. In all of my previous planning posts you'll notice how I share school subjects under one of three main topics: Knowledge of God, Knowledge of Man, and Knowledge of the Universe. Chapter 10 of Volume 6 has these three broad categories and all their subjects listed with advice and instruction. Even though Charlotte Mason wrote these over 100 years ago, the principles remain the same! They are "captain ideas" for the education of man. Even Aristotle grouped education in this way! ( Read about my plans and the three categories here. ) When I read through Volume 6 this year I was inspired to create a class for middle school where we could really dive deep into discussions and a love of learning to build our character and "magnanimity!" (I still stum...

  Usually during my school planning I put everything into one blog post. My brain needed a little more structure for science and I thought I would blog out the year for those interested in the resources and thoughts I have for middle school science! A Charlotte Mason education in science is not just willy-nilly nature study outings. But it's also not a "sit at your desk and read a textbook and take tests" kind of class either. I won't repeat what has already been written by many bloggers and websites like Sabbath Mood homeschool or Charlotte Mason Poetry , however I will quote this passage from Volume 6: "'Scientific truths,' said Descartes, 'are battles won.' Describe to the young the principal and most heroic of these battles; you will thus interest them in the results of science and you will develop in them a scientific spirit by means of the enthusiasm for the conquest of truth . . . How interesting Arithmetic and Geometry might be if we gave...