Charlotte Mason

I've been hearing and reading a lot about Charlotte Mason lately. A great resource is Simply Charlotte Mason. They have a ton of information and several free e-books, as well as great sample schedules and planning helps. I also recently read an incredible book called For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay that has opened my eyes to this philosophy and method the most.

This chart for the early years is from Simply Charlotte Mason:

Subject	3 Years Old	4 Years Old	5 Years Old
Habits	Habits Training
Outdoors	Outdoor Free Play and Exploration
Read-Alouds	(See suggested list.)	(See suggested list.)	(See suggested list.)
Beginning Reading	Learn letter names and sounds	Practice identifying the beginning sound of words; learn vowels are a, e, i, o, u	Beginning Reading Lessons; NOTE: Lessons should be short; no longer than 10-15 minutes.
Copywork	Trace upper-case letters with finger in sand, rice, or air	Write upper- and lower-case letters with felt-tip marker on wall chart or poster board on wall	Write on lined or unlined paper, holding pencil or felt-tip marker correctly; Manuscript Copyworkdownloads
Math	Counting by rote	One-to-one correlation in counting	RightStart Level A or Math-U-See Primer; NOTE: Lessons should be short; no longer than 10-15 minutes.
Handicrafts	(Select from Handicrafts and Life Skills list.)
Art	Display large prints of great artists, one at a time. Tell artist’s name if child is interested. (Or can join with older siblings/students for picture study.)
Music	Play the works of great composers, one at a time, in the background during meals or driving. Tell composer’s name if child is interested. (Or can join with older siblings/students for music study.)
Poetry	Read poetry aloud together at least once a week. Some poetry books are listed in the Read-Alouds. (Or can listen while you read poetry to older siblings/students.)
Bible	Read aloud the great stories of the Bible. (Or can listen to and participate in older siblings/students’ Bible readings and Scripture Memory.)

I don't see myself only doing this, because I'm more of a structure, planning type person. But with that being said, I also love the idea of childhood and learning being free. Being outdoors, reading, doing art, listening to music. Sort of like my childhood was. I can see myself fitting a couple planned activities into this framework, if I do it. I can also see  Norah being ready for some of these things a bit before age 3. But I love the idea of reading and being in nature to learn.