Our Guides

An Overview of the Guides

“Of all his early studies, perhaps none is more important to the child as a means of his education than that of arithmetic.” (Vol. 1, 254)

Y1

Arithmetic

In a Charlotte Mason math education, Arithmetic is the first stream that is foundational for all mathematics. Students begin with counting then progress to the four fundamental operations. In the upper forms, this stream includes consumer math and finance.

Geometry 4x3 1

Geometry

Geometry is the second stream that is introduced. This stream begins with students doing hands-on geometry investigations in Practical Geometry.

Arithmetic 4x3 1

Algebra

Algebra is the final stream that begins with Elementary Algebra. Eventually, the geometry and algebra streams converge into Algebra 2, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus. Upon completing Algebra 2, students are equipped to take Statistics.

What Our Customers Are Saying

The Why

The guides were created to help teachers implement the Charlotte Mason philosophy in mathematics. The goal of the guides are threefold:

  1. That students will delight in the beauty and truth of mathematics as a reflection of God’s character.
  2. That students will love exploring the ideas in math and then go apply those ideas outside of lessons.
  3. That parents will be equipped to teach their students math using Charlotte Mason’s philosophy.
 

Being homeschool moms and teachers ourselves, we understand how much is involved in spreading the feast of a Charlotte Mason education. Our desire is to come alongside fellow Charlotte Mason homeschoolers by reducing the amount of prep work and mental energy needed in preparing for math lessons. The guides are simply that – guides. They are not laws. We want parents to use them as a guide to meeting the needs of their unique, born persons.

They are written to make math lessons inviting and engaging. This leads to greater understanding for the student (and the teacher!). In mathematics the Charlotte Mason method fosters good habits, investigating, problem solving, critical thinking, logical thinking, clear reasoning, and rich discussion.

We desire that students will have the foundation of seeing order, accuracy, patterns, beauty, and truth. The Holy Spirit is the indefatigable teacher, always ready to help both the teacher and student in discovering God’s truth. Our prayer is that an ever growing understanding of God’s truth will lead to a deeper love for the Creator Himself.

The What

We use the Strayer-Upton Practical Arithmetic Series as the primary source for the lessons and problems. We also use outside resources when needed to build conceptual understanding, present mathematical ideas missing in the Strayer-Upton books (based on national standards), or to provide more practice. For the practical geometry guides, we use Lessons in Experimental and Practical Geometry by Hall & Stevens.

The guides are digital downloads that can be purchased a term at a time, or for the entire year at a discount. Each term of the guide is broken into three parts.

1. The introduction section includes:

  • A linked* table of contents
  • An overview of how the guides work
  • Teacher notes and tips for teaching math using the Charlotte Mason’s philosophy
  • A list of all the materials needed for the term, including compiled* pdfs of the printable resources
  • A suggested pacing for the term, with each lesson linked* within the document.

 

2. The weekly resources include:

  • An overview of what the week will cover
  • A list of prerequisite ideas the students needs to understand to learn the new material
  • A suggested weekly pace
    • Most weeks include at least one review/catch-up day to be used at the teacher’s discretion
  • A list of materials needed for the week in order of when they appear
  • Suggested topical review in order of when the student learned each idea
  • Suggested mental math activities
  • Suggested exam questions* for Week 12

 

3. The daily lessons include:

  • The goal of the lesson
  • The resources used, including the page number* in the math books
  • A list of the materials needed for that day
  • Occasional special notes of things the teacher should be aware of
  • Background information for the teacher on various mathematical concepts, where appropriate
  • A scripted lesson plan, including QR codes* for any website links
  • A student response section (assignment)

The How

Our expectation is that at the beginning of each term the parents will need to spend some time familiarizing themselves with the curriculum and getting any needed materials. This is also when the teacher should watch videos or read articles that are specified as “Teacher Education”. 

After that our goal is for parents to have to spend no more than 10-15 minutes/week in preparation. This preparation includes mapping out the week’s plan and planning the review days to meet their students where they are at.

*Please Note: Updates to all of the guides are coming Summer 2022. These updates will be free to anyone who has already purchased the curriculum. They will include rearranging some lessons, making adjustments, adding content, as well as modifying the formatting. Items with an asterisk are features that will be added in the revisions. These items are not currently in all of the published guides. 

How Does It Work?

Each Term

Each term plan includes a suggested scope and sequence based on the Strayer-Upton Arithmetic Series, topics to be covered during the term, the term at a glance with a suggested schedule, list of links used throughout the term, and a list of materials needed.

Each Week

Each weekly plan includes a summary of what will be studied throughout the week, foundational ideas, concepts that need to be mastered in order to complete the listed objectives, resources for review and mental math, a suggested schedule, and a list of materials needed for the week's lessons.

Each Day

Each daily lesson plan includes learning objectives for the lesson, a list of materials needed for the day's lesson, an introductory activity if applicable, questions to guide the student's thinking and reasoning, and an assignment to be completed.