When my oldest, who's now 17, was about 6 we played a game called Red Indian.  Not a politically correct name nowadays but it was called that none-the-less.  CM wrote about it in Home Education on page 88.  We play a variation that we made up ourselves.  Here's how we do it.

As I'm meandering down our dirt road, the children run up ahead and hide in the bushes.  They are to stay as quiet as they possibly can in hopes that I will not spot them.  If I pass by where they are hiding without spotting them, they pop up and let me know it and then take off running to hide again.  I just sort of look at the ground or walk backwards while they run to hide.  If I spot them in their hiding place, I yell "Red Indian!"

Our terrain where we live is covered with small scrub oak bushes, so it's perfect for this game because the children can really camouflage themselves.  Yesterday was Justus's (4yo) first time to play it.  He loved it.  It was quite interesting to see how the kids could be right next to the road and I would pass right by. 

This little guy's blue coat caught my attention.

In CM's version of Red Indian about 4 kids will hide together in an ambush.  Then the 'enemy' scouts for them, and after locating their ambush, tries to get within reach of them without being discovered.

I hope you and your kids have some fun with these ideas.

 It is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things. CM Vol.1

I'm not being too consistent in getting these posts out about CM but I'm trying.  Last time I wrote about  Out-of-Doors Studies for Children Under Six; today I would like to address the same but with more of a focus on older children.

The following list of ideas was complied from CM's books Home Education and A Philosophy of Education.  Many of these ideas were given for children under the age of nine but my guess is that many older children have not been exposed to these things either.  And if you need somewhere to start - a little direction -  this should help.

Wildflowers in your neighborhood - Can your child describe its shape, size, leaf, flower?  Where does it grow?  Make a collection of all the wildflowers you find.  Press and mount them, writing the name on paper, along with where and when you found it.  Draw the flowers in your nature sketch book.

Trees - Locate 6 different kinds of trees and make this a year-long study.  CM thought that starting this study in winter was a good time.  You see the tree in all its bareness, then as the weather warms, the buds start to form, leaves break out, flowers burst forth.  Learn leaf patterns, notice the bark.  If it's a fruit tree, watch the developing fruit.  Chronicle all of this in your nature sketch book.

Calendars - Record on a calendar where and when the first 'oak leaf' is seen, the first bee, various birds, first ant.  When you go on your nature walks this will give the child some direction, to teach him to notice what is happening all around him.  The calendar can be added to every year and can be looked back upon to see when and where to look for these things.

Living Creatures - Learn the habits of the various creatures in your area. Take time to observe them so that you can tell something about them.  Record in your nature sketchbook the things you observe and sketch the animal.

By doing these things they will learn something of classification. CM wrote:

For convenience in describing they should be able to name and distinguish petals, sepals, and so on; and they should be encouraged to make such rough classifications as they can with their slight knowledge of both animal and vegetable forms. Plants with heart-shaped or spoon-shaped leaves, with whole or divided leaves; leaves with criss-cross veins and leaves with straight veins; bell-shaped flowers and cross-shaped flowers; flowers with three petals, with four, with five; trees which keep their leaves all the year, and trees which lose them in autumn; creatures with a backbone and creatures without; creatures that eat grass and creatures that eat flesh, and so on. To make collections of leaves and flowers, pressed and mounted, and arranged according to their form, affords much pleasure, and, what is better, valuable training in the noticing of differences and resemblances.

Bird Lists - Make a list of all the birds you spot.

Habitats - Know what kinds of plants will grow in the different environments right in your area.  CM's older kids in one term would be able to "Make a rough sketch of a section of ditch or hedge or sea-shore and put in the names of the plants you would expect to find."

Your Own Special Study - You choose something that's of interest to your family.  Some ideas I came up with were:  Gardens - These have a host of insects visiting them, good and bad!  Learn their names, so that you can repel or attract them as the case may be.  Learn about pollination, propagation, saving seed. 

Study the constellations.  Know where to find the North Star.  Did you know you can tell time by the North Star (within a few minutes)? 

Keep a moon chart showing all the different phases of the moon.  What is a full moon, new moon?

Scouting - My son loves to hunt/scout.  He learned so much this past year about antelope, their habits and the terrain they like to roam in.  He found out that they aren't just in the plains as most people think.  He saw them in many other areas as well.

Hang bird feeders and bird houses to try and attract a variety of birds.  (Have your child build the bird houses if he's old enough.)   Build a squirrel feeder.  Observe them. 

I love Melissa Wiley's post "Some Breezy Open Wherein It Seemeth Always Afternoon".  In this post she tells of how she and her children found 3 special spots and visited at least one of them each week.  They became intimately acquainted with "their spots" as they went back to them over and over again for several years.

CM thought that mothers should read, read, read all they could about nature so that they could pass on tidbits of interest to their children when the moment arose, to be able to answer questions or to know how direct them for further study. 

A few of the Benefits resulting from Nature Studies

Consider, too, what an unequalled mental training the child-naturalist is getting for any study or calling under the sun––the powers of attention, of discrimination, of patient pursuit, growing with his growth, what will they not fit him for?   CM Vol.1

Who was Charlotte Mason? What Does a Charlotte Mason Education Look Like?

As I was preparing to write about nature studies, I was reading some of CM's writings.  Please let me say again, "I am no expert!"  Read for yourselves Charlotte's writings.  There's a wealth of information inside her books.

So, disclaimers aside, let me share with you some of what I have learned. 

When under the age of six, CM felt children should most of their waking moments outdoors.  Not only should the children go outdoors, moms, if at all possible were encouraged to take them.  She realized this was not completely practical, but felt that once mothers realized how important it was they would do whatever was necessary to achieve this.

I doubt if any mother has that amount of time available to her today but have you considered how little time you do spend outside?

What to do once you do go outside with your young ones?  Let them play vigorously (CM's suggestion 1-2 hours)  Do not attempt to entertain them or read stories.  As she says,

"Who thinks to amuse children with tale or talk at a circus or a pantomime?  And here, is there not infinitely more displayed for their delectation?"

After they have run off their energy, now is the time to give them a lesson.  Have them go and study some landscape or area and come back and describe it to you until you have a full depiction of that spot.

What is the value of this?  While it seems like fun to the child, yet, he is learning.

"She is training their powers of observation and expression, increasing their vocabulary and their range of ideas by giving them the name and the uses of an object at the right moment,  --'What is it?' and 'What is it for?"

If a child could not describe the tree, flower, plant, or any other object clearly enough for the mother to know exactly what he was talking about, the mother was not to make an effort to go see the item or give him the name for it until he could give a more complete description.

In practicing this, the child will slowly get a complete picture of the area he sees frequently but doesn't really 'see'.  The picture will be clear and not vague, a picture he can store in his mind to recall as grows older.

That's all the time I have for today.  If you have any thoughts about this, please be sure to share them in the Comments.

I think a CM (Charlotte Mason) education will look different in each persons home simply because we each have different demands upon our time.  We are the teachers, while also being mother, wife, homemaker, friend, and _________. (You fill in the blank.)  Also, to be able to homeschool exactly as Miss Mason suggested would be almost impossible. 

She encouraged mothers to take their youngsters out each day, not send them out, but to go with them outside for at least a few hours each day.  In her schools they taught 6 days per week.   Can you see from these two suggestions how it might not be possible to fully adhere to her ideas? 

Even though we may not be able to follow her ideas completely, there are common threads that you will find in those who are trying to follow Miss Mason's educational philosophy.

Some of these are:

Nature Study - where we increase our knowledge of, and appreciation for God's creation

Outdoors - not only during Nature Study but for exercise and fresh air

Artist Appreciation - Studying great works of art

Music Appreciation - Learning hymns/folksongs, listening to the works of great composers and maybe even learning about their lives

Living Books - Reading books from authors who were passionate about their subject, making the subject come alive for those who read - Not textbooks which offer only dry morsels of information

Handicrafts - Learning useful skills that will benefit the child always

Narration - Through pictures, oral or written.  This is such a wonderful tool to help your child's concentration, comprehension, ability to convey his thoughts as well as composition.

Copywork and Dictation - To learn punctuation and spelling, while practicing handwriting skills.  Passages taken from books that were written well

I would like to start a series of entries explaining, to the best of my understanding, the Charlotte Mason way of educating.  I hesitate to do this because I don't want to set myself up as some kind of expert on Miss Mason.  But I do have a purpose, and that is to help those who might read this blog to understand this way of "living" (educating). 

Miss Mason, whose full name was Charlotte Marie Mason, was born January 1, 1842 and died January 16, 1923 at the age of 81.  She was an only child and lost both parents within a year of each other.  She became an orphan at age 17. 

Miss Mason enrolled in a teachers school, received her certificate and started teaching.  After teaching for more then 10 years she left the college she was currently working at in 1878 and went to live with friends in Yorkshire, England.

Here Charlotte began to write.  She wrote a series of books on the geography of England in 1880 that were well received.  In 1886 she wrote Home Education which you can read online here.   This book caused the most notice, especially amongst mothers who wanted some type of guidance in how to raise their children. 

In 1891, when nearly 50, Miss Mason settled in Ambleside, England and stayed there until her death.  Here she opened her own school in 1892 called the House of Education with only four students.  Through this school she hoped to train governesses for young children.

Charlotte's ideas about children were unusual in her day.  At that time children were taught according to social class.  The poor were taught a trade while the rich had a liberal education, exposed to great literature and the fine arts.  Charlotte felt differently.  She believed that all children should be permitted a liberal education.  She felt that children were "thinking, feeling human beings, as spirits to be kindled and not as vessels to be filled".

Next time we'll talk about what a Charlotte Mason education looks like.

I have a four year old who likes to be included occasionally when we do school.  I know he would love it if I did more things with him but I guess I'm just not organized enough to have activities lined out for him. 

I'm of the opinion that it is beneficial to give him something that has learning value.  I don't want to give him, nor does he want, coloring pages.  What other things can we do?   

Here are a few sites I've found that have helpful ideas for what to do with preschoolers.

Simply Charlotte Mason - Ideas for 3-5 year olds

What to Do with Preschoolers by Karen Andreola

Higher Up and Further In has some very doable ideas

LaPaz Home Learning shares Montessori-type activities that we've used

Sunny has started a nature blog that inspires me, not just for my preschooler, but for all my kiddoes

The Critical Thinking Co. has a Visual Perceptual Skill Building book that my 4yos has enjoyed too

Charlotte Mason even has something to say on children under the age of 6 and their learning.  

"A child will have taught himself to paint, paste, cut paper, knit, weave, hammer and saw, make lovely things in clay and sand, build castles with his bricks; possibly, too, will have taught himself to read, write, and do sums, besides acquiring no end of knowledge and notions about the world he lives in, by the time he is six or seven. What I contend for is that he shall do these things because he chooses (provided that the standard of perfection in his small works be kept before him)."  Vol. 1 pg. 193

One day this week Justus (4yo) kept asking me, "Can we do school.  I want to do school."

I chose the actiivty of putting flour in a pie plate and letting him write letters in it.  I was going to use rice but I didnt think it left a good enough imprint.  Flour worked great, albeit a little messier.

 As he chose a letter we would say the sound it makes.  We would then think of words that started with that sound.

"D" for dog, doll, etc.

 2yo sister just had to try it too.

If you have any ideas or links that you would like to share, please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.

My daughter is using the Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament for her History.  I decided not to follow Ambleside Online's suggestion of Our Island Story because I felt my daughter needed to be grounded more in the Bible stories and history of the Old Testament.  

I have used Greenleaf Guide to OT History for my older boys and was very pleased with it.  I felt like it really helped us to realize that the events that happened in the Bible were not in some isolated country in a time when there were no other people but that they were an actual part of world events of their time.

I have a book called Old Testament Days by Nancy I. Sanders.  In it she gives many different activities you can do with your child.  I personally don't find it too useful but on this particular day I did choose an activity from it.  Weaving.

I talked to my daughter about how cloth was not readily available like today.  Today we can go to a store and find a vast array of fabrics but long ago it usually was made at home and was very labor intensive.

1.  To start her weaving project she first measured out her yarn.

2.  We then took two sticks and secured them to some chairs.  We folded the yarn in half and secured it to the upper stick.  (no knots)

3.  Then we secured the yarn to the bottom stick by wrapping it around the stick.

4.  This is her "needle".

5.  Getting started.

  (I don't know why but I love this picture.  Maybe because she looks like a professional weaver?)

6.  I think she has it figured out now.

7.  It's getting narrower and narrower.  

This is probably happening because there is nothing to stabilize the sides. 

It looks good to me though.

Dewey's Treehouse is hosting the 4th Charlotte Mason Carnival.  Be sure to visit.    My entry, Making the Choice to Rejoice, can be found here.

 Recently, for part of our nature study we read William Bartram - America's First Naturalist.  William lived from 1739-1823.   The book is written in a journal style and starts when he was 8 years old. 

Williams father was a botanist and passed on to William a love for nature.  He taught William to identify plant families by looking at 'the shape of the leaves, the structure of the seeds, buds, and flowers , the bark and branching patterns of trees.'

Between the two of them they are credited with introducing more then 200 plants into cultivation.  Many plants would have become extinct if not for them.

I read the first half of this book to my children while some drew the leaves they saw around them.   

We're sitting in a dry creek bed which should have water running in it come winter.

Sometimes nature comes to you.   This little guy hopped up on to my nature journal as I was attempting to sketch. 

I've just recently started my own nature journal and am thoroughly enjoying it.  Barb at Harmony Art Mom is to be given the credit for the inspiration.  Thanks, Barb!

For Music Appreciation this week we read about George Frideric Handel 1685-1759.  We read Hallelujah Handel by Douglas Cowling illustrated by Jason Walker.

The artist did a beautiful job with the illustrations and the author wrote an interesting story.  It was about 3 orphans who met Handel by carrying his bags.  I only wished there had been more information about Handel interspersed throughout the story.  We learned more about the orphans than Handel himself.  I do think that what we did learn the children will not forget.

Rapt Attention

 Handicraft work while listening.

Even the four-year-old was tuned in to the story.

I intend to follow up this book with the chapter about Handel in The Spiritual Lives of Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh.

After reading Hallelujah Handel we listened to Handel's Water Music:  Suite No. 1 in F.  We had learned in the book that Handel wrote this music, at the Kings request, for him as he sailed in his boat down the river.

George Frideric Handel - Born February 1685 in Germany started composing music at age 9.  He never married and died in 1759 in London.

He was highly regarded by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.

 Bach apparently said "[Handel] is the only person I would wish to see before I die, and the only person I would wish to be, were I not Bach." (taken from Wikipedia)