I’ve often been asked, “What exactly do you mean by Charlotte Mason Inspired?” I utterly love this question!

There is so much to Charlotte Mason, you could write a book on just one aspect of her education — actually, people have! Charlotte Mason knew that education was not just merely learning things but was so much more! It was a life!

Our core values come from Charlotte Mason’s view of education — we just put a little WP twist to it!

We focus on:

• Joy
• Curiosity & Discovery
• Living Books
• Nature Study

Let’s dive in!

Joy!

Joyful learning is essential to any education because joy is an essential part of any childhood.

When children are young their brains are developing faster than at any other time in their lives. Creating a positive, joyful connection to learning is key to developing a love of learning that carries forward through their entire life. It does not stop there. To instill lifelong habits and success, joy should be infused into learning and education. So many children experience an education that is dry and uninteresting–anything but joyful. WinterPromise places joy at the center of our children’s education. That does not mean serious effort and hard work are not essential. Quite to the contrary, a joy centered education prepares and enables students to continue learning and discovering even though it requires hard work.

Curiosity and Discovery

Children are naturally curious and enjoy discovery almost as soon as they are born.

Nothing is more natural to our young children than an inspiration to learn and discover. Too often it is assumed that as children grow older their curiosity will disappear and we need to educate them differently when that happens. This is not the case. The desire to investigate, discover, and be curious will develop and change over the years, but education should be fanning the flames of discovery at every turn in education. The best learner is a learner that is self-motivated and excited (joyful) about what they are learning.

WinterPromise is dedicated to offering a variety of exciting learning experiences that students can dive into and enjoy. We offer a variety of activities and content that create an environment where your whole family can discover things. You’ll find your family’s curiosity blossom year after year.

Living Books

Living books are the centerpiece of how we develop our programs here at WinterPromise.

What is a living book? A living book is a book written by an author on a specific topic in a way that communicates their own passion while also being written and published in a way that inspires others. Textbooks often are the standard in education, but because of their delivery and format, they usually discourage excitement about learning. WinterPromise builds our curriculum around living books that take you places, invite your family into a new experience, inspire interest in a great person of the past, fuel discussion about difficult topics and offers a chance to discover new and exciting people writing about new and exciting topics. This makes your reading together as a family and the reading your child does another avenue for fueling curiosity and discovery while enhancing the desire to read. We could not imagine offering an education devoid of the joy of living books. There is a magic to a good book that we can all sense but can’t quite pinpoint. A living book delivers that magic to your family.

Nature Study

Charlotte Mason believed that nature study was the foundation of all sciences and essential to a child’s education.

Nature study is a vital component of every program we offer because we believe that getting your child outside and observing the world around them is one of the best ways to enhance joyful learning and begin a life of curiosity. Children thrive when they are in the woods, looking at bugs in the garden, learning about plants and animals, observing and journaling what they see, and getting a little dirty in the process. The benefits of nature study are boundless.

Do you see a naturalist in your little boy or girl? Get them outside classifying, ordering, collecting, and seeing all they can outdoors. Have a child who thrives with art? Get them outside and create what they see with paint, markers, or pencil. Do you have a child who loves music? Have them listen to the birds and the orchestra that is nature. Do you have a child that loves writing and words? Learn new words by talking about names and labels. Learn about metaphor and how nature is used as a metaphor to describe real life. Do you have a child that you want to develop those areas mentioned above? Get them outside!

Nature study is a lifestyle and WinterPromise offers a little to no-prep way of making it a habit to get your children learning, loving, and living outside.