TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY ? HOW DO YOUR CHILDREN RECEIVE THEIR EDUCATION ?
“ Education is the Science of Relations ” We are pretty firm believers in the Charlotte Mason education philosophy . We use a mixture of Ambleside Online , which is a free resource for followers of the Charlotte Mason Method , and a travelbased education . For example , if we are in France , we learn some French history or about Monet or other french artists . We teach all subjects on the road including Math , Science , Literature , History , Art , Handwriting , Music . My kids are currently learning ukulele and piano for music and French and Latin for languages . We use several online programs such as Teaching Textbooks for Math , DuoLingo and Rosetta Stone for French and Visual Latin Program for Latin . The rest we learn through books or through hands on experiences . It ’ s sometimes challenging to plan their learning around countries , but it is totally worth it when we get it right !
WHAT ’ S THE ONE MOST UNDERRATED COUNTRY YOU ' VE BEEN TO THAT WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ?
I think ALL the countries that we have been to are very highly rated , so I ’ m not sure I have a great answer for that , but we have LOVED Switzerland ! It has so much to offer for families and it is absolutely beautiful . I feel like when families contact me and want advice about traveling to
Europe , they always want to know about the big cities . London , Paris , Rome , which are all AMAZING and have so much to offer culturally , but I think to get to know the country and the people , sometimes you have to get off the beaten path and maybe head outside those cities to take in the true beauty . When we lived in France we stayed on a sweet little farm owned by the sweetest elderly ladies . They taught us so much and let us work and really feel at home on the farm . I was so grateful that they gave us that opportunity . I think finding somewhere to live in a small town where tourists don ’ t really go can be so beneficial to really get a feel for life in that country !
WHAT DO YOU THINK FAMILIES CAN DO FROM HOME TO SPARK A SENSE OF ADVENTURE AND CURIOSITY FOR OUR WORLD , EVEN IF THEY CAN ' T TRAVEL ?
We ’ ve had SO many families contact us and say “ Oh I wish I could do what you ’ re doing , I wish we could see the world !” and I always say that you don ’ t have to leave your home to learn about the world ! You really don ’ t ! READ ! Read everything you can about the place you want to learn about . Learn about the culture , the people , the landscape , the FOOD ! There is so much you can do to learn about our beautiful world ! Get a penpal , be involved in service projects , sponsor a refugee , plant a tree or sponsor a child in need . There is so much NEED in the world and so much good already being done ! We just need to find the need and be the good !
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