Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home [Paperback]

Elizabeth Foss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2003

This book is not about "school at home"--it is about something better. It is about Real Learning.

Homeschooling pioneer Charlotte Mason wrote with great wisdom about providing young minds with a living books education. She urged teachers to present great ideas and stand back, allowing students to form relationships with the ideas.

Elizabeth Foss carries Miss Mason's philosophy from the idealto the real. How does the busy home-educating mom balance the various needs of a houseful of children? How does she provide short lessons and free afternoons while ensuring that her children receive a thorough and well-rounded education? Exactly how does she use living books to teach history, geography, literature, and scienc? How does she incorporate nature study, the arts, and soccer practice? How does she create in her home an atmosphere of sanctity with Christ at its center, an atmosphere of love in which the whole family can grow in holiness day by day?

How does she manage all this and still get dinner on the table?

With passion and grace, Elizabeth Foss explores these questions and more. Real Learning is a rich and detailed examination of how to let "eduation" spill out of your home classroom into every aspect of your family life. More than a curriculum guide, it is a look at a lifestyle which aims to nourish the whole child, the whold family--heart, soul, and mind.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Real Learning will give you an extra boost of support to get through even those difficult days. -- Patrick Madrid, editor of Envoy Magazine

Elizabeth Foss does a masterful job translating Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education into practical methods for Catholic home educators. -- Cathy Duffy, author of Christian Home Educators' Curriculum Manual

I look forward to any of Elizabeth's work. I know her material will help me be a better homeschooler. -- Laura Berquist, author Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum

About the Author

Elizabeth Foss, wife, mother, and writer, home educates her large family in South Riding, Virginia. Her column on faith and family life for the Arlington Catholic Herald has inspired and informed readers for ten years--both in the Arlington diocese and on the World Wide Web.

Despite an honors degree in eucation from the University of Virginia and several years' classroom experience, Elizabeth strongly believes that the most meaningful learning, for both parent and child, occurs at home. As moderator of the popular Charlotte Mason in the Catholic Home e-mail list and website, Elizabeth has introduced scores of home educators to a method of education that allows enthusiastic learning to go hand in hand with sanctified living.

As this book went to press, Elizabeth was awaiting the birth of her seventh child.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: By Way of the Family Press (May 2003)
• ISBN-10: 0971889511
• ISBN-13: 978-0971889514
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elizabeth Foss is a cancer survivor who lives every day grateful for the gift of life. She is very happily married to Mike Foss and mother to nine children from 1-21.

A featured columnist for the Arlington Catholic Herald, Elizabeth has written an award-winning family life column for 17 years. Her work appears frequently in Faith and Family Magazine and she has also been been featured at Catholic Exchange, EWTN and The Washington Post. She was a frequent contributor and Managing Editor of Welcome Home.

Elizabeth published her first book, Real Learning: Education in the Heart of My Home in 2003. The book is now in its third printing. She has authored a second book, Small Steps for Catholic Moms, with friend and colleague Danielle Bean.

Online, Elizabeth's blog, In the Heart of My Home (elizabethfoss.com) has received numerous awards, including Best Homeschooling Mom Blog (2006 and 2009) and Top Ten Blogs for Christian Women.

She writes curriculum and makes children's books suggestions at elizabethfoss.com/serendipity.

Elizabeth is an often-requested speaker on family life, parenting, and home education . For speaking information, email Elizabeth at [e-mail]

You can listen to Elizabeth on Faith and Family Livecasts.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Charlotte Mason for today's busy homeschooler September 16, 2003

By Bonnie D. Reynolds

Format:Paperback

Elizabeth Foss has written a lovely book which presents the best of Charlotte Mason's wisdom in an easy to read and very doable format. CM's six volume series is a daunting read, so Elizabeth's book is a must have for the busy CM homeschooler! I felt as if I were in Elizabeth's living room, having tea and gaining wisdom from someone who has had much experience in implementing the "atmosphere of learning" so important to Charlotte Mason. The reader will find nuts and bolts how-to's sprinkled throughout this beautiful book. The complete table of contents allows the reader to skip directly to any area in which one needs help quickly. There are detailed resource lists provided as well. Puzzled about how to effortlessly blend science, art, music and religion into your lifestyle of learning? Find out how in this book!

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Plethora of Material for New or Experienced Homeschoolers July 28, 2003

By "by-way-of-the-family"

Format:Paperback

Most impressive is the huge book list at the end of the book. Every book on the list represents "Real Learning" versus what Charlotte Mason referred to as "Twaddle." Tried and true, the author, Elizabeth Foss, clearly has a handle on home education and I don't think a person out there whether homeschooling or not could read this book without being inspired with new ideas and ambitions for their children.

This book has been a gift for me as well as for my children. Now that I've had a chance to implement some of the things I've learned, I can't imagine homeschooling without "Real Learning."

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars prepare to be convicted September 14, 2005

By Elizabeth Rose Augustine

Format:Paperback

Public schooling is not an option for me. This book deepened my conviction on this and even further solidified my desire to homeschool my children. Her book is able to articulate exactly WHY I want to homeschool... something I sometimes struggled to pinpoint.

She gives descriptions of "twaddle" and writes such lovely suggestions on how to order your homeschooling day that anyone who reads this will be completely pumped about it. If you are on the fence about homeschooling, this book is for you. It makes learning at home, real, attainable and desirable. It gives me hope that my kids are going to be just fine in this crazy, sensory overloaded world...

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for homeschooling July 17, 2006

By Kerrie Fitzgerald

Format:Paperback

I was so inspired by this book. I think it is a must have on the bookshelves of every parent contemplating homeschooling. I have been on the fence about boxed curricula vs Charlotte Mason style and this gave me the much needed confidence to branch out on my own. I'm glad she makes the analogy of minds being considered cups to fill up according the current way we educate children. I don't want to fill up my child's mind w/'twaddle' as much as expand it to love learning long after the days they sleep under our roof. I want learning to be a way of life not an event that happens. I love this book and can't recommend it enough.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and Informative January 27, 2008

By Jennifer Dunlap

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This mom of six children has tried numerous different approaches to homeschooling, and found a relaxed approach that focuses on the development of the whole child, not just his mind. In spite of this, the results are excellent in terms of education alone. She has many helpful and practical ideas, not just about lessons, but about ordering family life to encourage peaceful learning. I am going to give several copies to friends of mine who are about to start homeschooling, and make copies of her reading lists in the back.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must have" book. July 25, 2007

By Jacqui R.

Format:Paperback

I totally enjoyed this book. As a homeschooling mother with five young children, I found this book uplifting and empowering. After reading it, I felt relieved to know that "Real learning" can and does take place in the home - even our home which is sometimes a bit chaotic!
This is a book I will refer to again and again.
Elizabeth Foss not only privides workable ideas for education in the home but words of wisdom from other mothers.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Booklist in the back is worth the price of the book alone.... December 20, 2006

By Mary Mccarthy

Format:Paperback

This was one of the most refreshing reads I've experienced in a long time. This book inspired me to take my children on same nature walks and just to enjoy being with them. Treat yourself and your family by reading this book. The booklist in the back (as well as the chapter on preventing burnout) is worth the price of the book. Check out from the library first, but I guarantee you'll want to have it on the bookshelf!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ideas! August 9, 2007

By anonymous

Format:Paperback

Great ideas for the Charlotte Mason homeschooling family. More importantly...great ideas for meshing Mason's method and Catholic ideals. Wish this had been one of the first homeschooling books I read before starting homeschooling.