Jeannie Fulbright Press

One of the most profound—and often under appreciated—methods of Charlotte Mason is her teachings on habits. How I wish I had known of this extremely influential concept when my children were younger, before they formed the bad habits we invested a lot of time undoing. Mason addresses the fascinating subject of attention: The Habit of Attention. She explains that a child should stay focused on a subject and not allow his mind to wander hither and thither with every interesting thought that pops into his brain. The thing is, our children have fascinating thoughts and ideas, but they must be […]

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Free time is one of the greatest benefits of a homeschool education. It gives students space to think and create, to pursue and develop their passions fully and deeply. I’m so pleased with how much my daughter accomplished with her free time even during the middle school years. When she was thirteen, she taught herself to draw realistic animals with pencils and made and sold beaded jewelry. She designed HTML blog templates for other children. She put on history and drama camps for homeschoolers every summer beginning when she was nine. She even produced a ballet newsletter and sold subscriptions. […]

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We’ve all heard this and that about how children need to get out in nature. Charlotte Mason advocated for nature study ruthlessly—demanding we gather our kids and a book and go sit outside somewhere natural, even if we have to take a twenty minute train ride every day to get there. She was passionate about letting children experience God’s beautiful creation, so Mason’s brilliant, high achieving students did the nature thing. They excelled academically, though they spent the greater portion of their lives outdoors. Recent research shows us that Mason had the right idea. As it turns out, her students […]

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Jesus tells us, “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Two commands. Both are to love. Yet, love seems to be a naturally occurring virtue, a quality we don’t often focus on, especially in our family. We tell our husband and children every day that we love them. It’s not something we even have to think about doing. We certainly don’t believe loving others is as difficult as having patience or self control. However, for Christians, love is the mark of maturity. But are we really loving others as God would have us love them? When […]

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Long ago, the homeschooling mother had time to read novels to her children. Dinner was unhurried and filled with laughter and rich conversation—often about the latest learning adventure. Playing games together in the evening, the family drew close to one another and the children knew peace and unity. In contrast, today’s busy homeschool mom rushes through the day’s curricula, grabs lunch in the car on the way to lessons and activities, then rushes home to complete the task for the committee on which she serves. She hastily prepares a quick dinner so the children are not late for the evening’s […]

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Sometimes we must stop what we’re doing and address issues that come up in our family. When we have everything all planned out for our day or week, these interruptions can seem overwhelmingly burdensome. Yet, we must see them as part of God’s plan for the path we walk. I once found the morning interrupted with a long overdue “talk” with one of my children who had been ever so stealthily walking the wrong path in his heart—toward his siblings, chores, parents, school, bedtime, and who knows what else. After a momentary discouragement, I realized something significant: we are on […]

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In Jesus’ day, people brought gifts to the priests as a way of showing God their gratitude and love. Today, our gift to God is our entire life. Romans 12:1 tells us to offer our bodies a living sacrifice to God. And Jesus has set before us the standard of love for others. Remember that song, “They will Know we are Christians by our Love?” I once had a falling out with someone. I really was fine with the whole thing. But the other person was not. Whenever I tried to pray and become intimate with God, I would feel […]

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He who dwells in the Shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust…If you make the Most High your dwelling, even the LORD, who is my refuge—then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:1-2, 9-12 How […]

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Who are you?  You are significant, united with Jesus and given a purpose in life. He tells us,  I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 You have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John 15:16 You are God’s temple. If anyone destroys God’s […]

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Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 Do you, like me, sometimes forget that this is what Christ offers? Have you forgotten that He longs to give you rest? He has the kind of rest that floods us with peace when we are weary. Rest that makes us feel as though we’ve slept well. I know I need to be reminded of this. I forget that God has not called me to minister and work until I’m weary. No, He wants me to rest. To feel restful. To feel […]

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What if you were with your child all day long and he never even acknowledged your presence. He didn’t speak to you or even look at you, yet you still followed him everywhere—into every room, down to the mailbox, into the shower, outside to play. You were there all day long, right there beside him, wanting to talk to him and longing to relate with him but he was totally oblivious to you. However, once in awhile he would speak to you—sometimes at night or when he was very distraught; yet, when he talked, he spoke very formally and distantly, […]

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And whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: This is the way. Walk in it. Isaiah 30:21 Here we see a promise from God to His children. He will show us which way to go, what to do, and how to live each moment if we’ll listen for His voice. This is not just talking about the big decisions, like whether or not you should homeschool, where to live, or if you should sell your house and be a missionary in Africa. God has the ability—and not just the […]

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