Charlotte Mason Form I Schedule
I’ve been asked a lot about my true, Charlotte Mason morning schedule while using A Gentle Feast for my Form IB and IA students. Many people assume that to do a true Charlotte Mason Form I Schedule you must have to teach all day because of the vast amount of subjects covered. Oh contraire! That’s the furthest from the truth. Miss Mason believed the afternoons should be left to the students interests and household tasks. Therefore, all the subjects offered had to be accomplished in a two and half hour time span (an hour longer for older students). But how?!
A timetable of course! (get your own copy at the bottom of this post) In order to achieve the rich beauty of the Charlotte Mason curriculum, you must stick to a schedule. I know there is freedom in homeschooling, but a routine is a must for children and families who wish to accomplish a feast of subjects (and see the fruit it naturally produces). By doing so, it respects everyone’s time and efforts without the burnout.
When making this schedule Miss Mason advised short, concise, rich lessons that change every 10-20 minutes in material. Switching lessons frequently allows the child to persevere through the morning without growing weary. Essentially, its providing a break without pausing ‘work’. (Note: most days in this Form there is a playtime break or an equivalent, like dancing.)
This schedule that I have made fits my family best because of how many children I have, their ages, and specific materials I have chosen. Next year, when I have a Form I and Form II, I will have to reevaluate and make a new schedule. Keep in mind you can always change this to fit your needs, but be sure that when moving subjects around, you do not put mentally strenuous subjects back to back. (math, reading, etc.) Instead, when there is a subject requiring great mental effort, have a physical, tactile lesson following it. Thus, refreshing the mind and body without having to take a ‘break’.
You will see that a lot of my handicraft and art time is near the end of the day. The reason is two fold: (1) It makes transition easier for me for both setup and clean-up. (2) It ends the school day on a high note, allowing them to ‘finish-up’ while I’m making lunch.
For A Gentle Feast curriculum users- When setting up my weekly schedule I open up the Google sheets for morning time and my Form I week. Then I just copy and paste them into my template where they belong. I then add my other chosen resources and plans to the remaining blocks that are not included with my AGF cycle.
How do you make your Charlotte Mason schedule? Feel free to share below in the comments or ask any questions you may have about this type of timetable. If you’d like an editable copy of my Charlotte Mason Form I Schedule, sign up below!
