Every year or so I go through this phase where I don't think I'm doing anything right.   Of course I do some obvious things... clean the house well enough for an in-law visit, organize some things, improve our diet, shop and plan home improvements ...   

Those are great and all, but for our actual day to day routine.. we've just been in a rut!   So I sit down and read tons of self-help and information books and articles and realize a plan for action.

 I've been neck deep in obsessive reading and planning now for days.   Trouble is, there are so many great ideas and helps that it's hard actually nailing down a great routine.  This week we're having a little break so I can regroup and improve our lives by getting more productive things done and make time for more fun outside the home.  

 For example...our day routine from 8am to 2pm (that would fall under homeschooling)

 I've always been a little eclectic here.  I pretty much use traditional methods, but some are considered classical.  I've always admired Charlotte Mason's principles on education, but I never knew how to pull it off... it all seemed so vague and unstructured.  

 I think schooling has become boring for us over the winter.  I'm loving the whole nature study thing Mason writes about so I've decided to give it another look.   www.amblesideonline.org  has been a site of great interest to me of late, and I'm just about ready to kick off a new plan.

I'm the type of homeschooler that can never fully embrace a completed curriculum... so I'm trying to make a happy blend of some classical educating in subjects of grammar, math and science along with the "living books" approach as Charlotte Mason recommends in other subjects. 

There's a chapter in her books that describes what she calls "masterly inactivity"    Pretty much you're to give your children freedom after their lessons to pursue their interests, but give them just enough materials and direction first to spend that time wisely.   That means no plopping down in front of the tv or xbox, but to either run and play outside, work on projects, care for pets, journal, cook, handicrafts, read... you get the idea.    I believe we do that for the most part.   I do indulge in some tv w/ them and occasional videogames, but never excessively.   Balance is the key right?  

 Miss Mason was a brilliant lady.  How to make her method work in my homeschool?  I'm working on it