Wednesday, February 4, 2009 My Favorite Charlotte Mason Resources Wednesday, January 28, 2009 How I found Charlotte Mason and Why we use it
It all started back when we first got married, except I didn't know it at the time. We were given the book "For the Family's Sake" by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and while it looked interesting I just never got around to reading it until the year that I was nursing my 5th baby William. I usually go through a boat-load of books while nursing and this book happened to be one that I picked up. Not only does she give lots of good advice she also leads you into a general, approachable understanding about Charlotte Mason and her educational philosophies.
Also around that same time the Spring 2007 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine showed up and as I perused it I ran across an article where a mom , Ali Telfer, shared how they were using this FREE curriculum called Ambleside Online and how much they were enjoying it, so this intrigued me as well, I mean who can pass up FREE.
I don't know if I had heard of Charlotte Mason persay but I did know that somehow Karen Andreola was "into" that kind of education. Honestly I thought it was an unschooling approach which I was not interested in simply because of my personality.
After reading several chapters in "For the Family's Sake", and doing some internet research I borrowed the book "Pocketful of Pinecones" from my library and that is probably what finally lit my fire. Each of these bits of information that I had come across not only heightened my curiosity but touched something deep within me that needed answers.
I spent a lot of time researching on the internet and then ordered a used set of the "The Original Homeschooling Series" by Charlotte Mason. At this point I was reading everything that I could get my hands on and when those books showed up I devoured the first volume in short order, some of it actually bringing me to tears!
As I read I couldn't help but think back on my own schooling years (all homeschooled) and realize that those times when I learned the most and remembered the most all came from reading living books and being left alone in nature. I knew that that was exactly what I wanted for my children and the idea of a broad education not only excited me as a teacher but as a person.
I have always had a huge appetite for knowledge and have never ceased to educate myself continually throughout my years out of school although only a few months were spent in college. I knew that at the heart of my goals for my children would be that they would never lose that eager curiosity and longing to know more. I saw the steps to keep this flame lit in their lives given to me through Charlotte's writings.
I also was searching for the kind of education that would not stifle my oldest son, Thomas's, unique personality. Thomas did not speak more than a few words until he was 3 years old and had every indication that he was somewhere on the autism spectrum. We had him in speech therapy and I had radically changed his diet but I knew that it would probably be a life-long effort to teach him. Since language was his main issue I needed tools to use in schooling at home that would increase his vocabulary and his ability to express himself. Enter Narration! This has been an answer to prayers, not an easy one mind you but very effective in Tom's life.
We started using narration (a technique his speech therapist was using as well) during his Preschool and Kindergarten years and while it was a huge struggle at first and I would often become very frustrated we were able to see the benefits when we returned to speech therapy after a years absence. For financial reasons we were unable to continue speech therapy during his Kindergarten year but I used as many CM principles as I could, especially narrating. When we returned to his therapy his advisor was completely astounded by the progress he had made. Literally she saw a completely different boy than the previous year had shown. His vocabulary had gone from being 2-3 years behind his age to being in a normal range, his understanding of reading material was at a normal range etc. Everything that we had thought would never be possible for him or he would struggle with was gone! We continued his therapy only until they had finished evaluating where he was at and it was decided that he no longer needed their help. One of the greatest compliments that I received was from his advisor who had been very concerned about us homeschooling him; she said as we left that she had no doubt that he would succeed and catch up completely because he was being homeschooled! Praise the Lord! She also wanted to know if I had a teaching degree.  Nope just Charlotte Mason.
To make a long story short I can say most emphatically that a Charlotte Mason style education is a perfect fit for our family. I continue to read and learn more and have never ceased to be inspired by her writings and wisdom for our school and for me as a mom.
Everyday is an adventure and because of the wisdom that Charlotte so willing shared as an educator to parents and her hearts desire to see parents teaching their children I do not feel lost and unsure about the direction to take in education my own children . She has given us a tried and true method to follow and taken the guess work out of providing our children with a broad and complete education that will enhance the rest of their lives.
P.S. Go on over to Homesteaders Heart for more about homeschooling the Charlotte Mason way.
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Monday, January 19, 2009 Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival!!!
The 2nd Edition
of the
2009
Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival
Grab a cup of hot cocoa and slide your feet into some fuzzy slippers then sit back, relax and enjoy!
OUTDOOR GROWING TIMES
"It would be well if all we persons in authority, parents and all who act for parents, could make up our minds that there is no sort of knowledge to be got in these early years so valuable to children as that which they get for themselves of the world they live in. Let them once get touch with Nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life."
Charlotte Mason Vol. 1, pg. 61
Kim from YellowHouseintheWoods shares with us how they manage nature time when the weather is not co-operating.
Barb at HandbookofNatureStudy challenges us to learn more about one mammal in particular, the squirrel, during our nature time and gives us the tools to do so with video clips, website links and instructions. (My kids and I watched her video clips several times, they are very entertaining!)
Candace from CandaceMercyIsNew shares the birds that have been gracing their backyard this winter.
And Makita of 4TwinklingStars tells us how her family joined in a community "weed pull" while on vacation and what they discovered while helping out.
Barb at HarmonyArtMom also shares with us the impact her family's bird window is having on their daily lives and gives us ideas for learning more about another bird lover, John James Audubon.
INSTRUMENTS OF EDUCATION
"We see, then, that the children's lessons should provide material for their mental growth, should exercise the several powers of their minds, should furnish them with fruitful ideas, and should afford them knowledge, really valuable for its own sake, accurate, and interesting, of the kind that the child may recall as a man with profit and pleasure."
Charlotte Mason Vol. 1, pg. 177
Cindy from OurJourneyWestward shares with us how she plans to beat the winter blues around her house using Winter Learning Centers. A good reminder that sometimes our children just need the right encouragement.
Jessica (me) shares with us how she has incorporated composer and picture study into Year 1 in her busy home.
Jacci at UnderstandingCharlotte gives us great insight and instruction for applying copywork in our school time through a series of links to previous posts.
Shannon from MountaineerCountryWV writes the specific copywork passages that she chose for her daughter from the most recent book that they finished reading.
BOOK REVIEWS FOR MOMS AND KIDS ALIKE
"...no education seems to be worth the name which has not made children at home in the world of books, and so related them, mind to mind, with thinkers who have dealt with knowledge. We reject epitomes, compilations, and their like, and put into children's hands books which, long or short, are living."
Charlotte Mason Vol. 3, pg. 226
Mama Squirrel over at DeweysTreeHouse share with us her thoughts and reactions to the book "Marva Collins Way" and how her eduactional approach was like and unalike that of Charlotte Mason's and the end results.
Christina from AHabitofReading gives us a very detailed and well-thought out reveiw of several astronomy books separating for us which ones are "living" and which ones are not.
EDUCATION AS A LIFE
"The parent who sees his way - that is, the exact force of method - to educate his child, will make use of every circumstance of the child's life almost without intention on his own part, so easy and spontaneous is a method of education based upon Natural Law. Does the child eat or drink, does he come, or go, or play - all the time he is being educated, though he is as little aware of it as he is of the act of breathing."
Charlotte Mason Vol. 1, pg. 8
Jeanne from OhPeacefulDay gives us a glimpse of how they work they're CM schooling into everyday no matter how HOT!
I hope that you enjoyed stepping into each of these homes for a glimpse of how we each try to implement Charlotte Mason's ideas into our lives.
Don't miss our next carnival to be held in 2 weeks at Oh Peaceful Day.
Submit your entries anytime!
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Sunday, January 11, 2009 How we do Artist and Picture Study
For Year 1 we have been using Harmony Fine Arts grade 1 curriculum. It has worked very well for us and been an inexpensive and fun addition to our school.
The Harmony Fine Arts curriculum is laid out to give you 1 composer and 1 artist to study during a 4 week time period. Also listed are which pictures to view each week and where to find them on the internet. This is a huge time saver and makes it very easy to implement into our lives.
ARTIST STUDY
On Friday we gather around the computer and read a short biography about the focus artist, then I load the picture to study on the computer and enlarge it so we see the whole thing (we do have a larger screen and this does help). Alissa and Thomas and I spend a few minutes studying the picture and then I turn the screen off and they narrate to me what the remember and what their impressions were, I generally join in on this since it's fun to hear the different impressions that each of us get from one picture.
Next I turn the screen back on and we talk about the different layers of the painting (foreground, background etc.) we also discuss how it was painted and maybe what the artist was thinking when he painted it.
Each of the kids have enjoyed this and their impressions are always very unique and interesting.
I also set the picture as the computer wallpaper so that we can enjoy it for the rest of the week!
COMPOSER STUDY
For the composer study at the beginning of the month we read the biography of the target composer and then put in the cd to listen to his music. I try to pick out 1 or 2 songs to focus on and discuss so that they are familiar with specific pieces. Also I try to find a few piano pieces of that particular composer to play for the kids throughout the month.
OTHER IDEAS
I also check our library for any kids picture books that can accompany either the artist or composer we are studying. There are usually quite a few books of the most famous composers i.e. Mozart, Beethoven, Bach.
When we were studying about Mozart I found a college theatrical production of the Magic Flute on youtube and amazingly the children watched most of it and enjoyed it immensly. I've also found video performances of Vivaldi pieces to familiarize Alissa and Thomas with the instruments they were hearing.
When I remember I try and find a clipart picture of the composer and artist to paste into our Book of Centuries. I haven't accomplished this every month but will be trying to get back to doing that. |
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