The Charlotte Mason Girl

Our First Day of School!

We are closing in on our first official day of school for the 2009-2010 school year.  I always get so excited to start a new year!  It’s a chance to improve ourselves over last year.  I like to take the summer time to read more from or about Miss Mason, and learn how to better educate my children.  I enjoy reading either re-reading A Charlotte Mason Companion or I read some of Miss Mason’s writings.  (You can read her whole six volume series free online here.)  I’ve always learned something new about how to better apply Charlotte Mason’s philosophy to our schooling, and I’m excited to use what I’ve learned with my children! 

 

We started a couple of years ago to make Labor Day our first day of school.  Some people may think this strange, as the rest of the world is taking a holiday, but this works well for our family.  Daddy always has the day off from his day job, so he can be home with us - it’s wonderful to have him here as we embark on a new year!  He gets to be in on getting our school notebooks together.  Every student starts with one 3-ring binder that they get to decorate a cover for.  Some of our children like to color theirs by hand, others like to use the computer to make a cover.  Daddy helps everyone get their boxes together with all their books and writing stuff and paper in their box for the first term.  Daddy is also able to begin our year with a blessing for everyone in the family – even me!  It’s wonderful to have my husband bless me the first day, and the children just glow as he is blessing them!  This blessing is not a big formal ceremony; he just speaks words of encouragement and asks the Lord to bless each one of us as we embark on a new year of schooling. 

 

After everyone has their notebook together, we take each child’s picture by a sign with our school’s name and the school year on it.  We do some read aloud, and have a short narration from each student over the age of 6 – sometimes the younger ones chip in on their own, too!  We may do a little math or copywork.  I believe this year we will all do a nature walk together, as we now have a few acres of woods to discover!  We have a special supper to end the day, and we all get to bed early to get a good night’s rest for the next day – a full day of academics! 

 

What do you like to do to start your school year off right?

Charlotte Mason Copywork Suggestions

Are you looking for material to use for your student’s copywork this year?  Well, I just got my email from HomeschoolFreebieOfTheDay.com with this week’s resources, and I think Tuesday’s resource looks like a good prospect for copywork material!  I haven’t seen it, yet, as it doesn’t become available until Tuesday, and I’m writing this on Monday.  If you would like to see it for yourself, just go to www.HomeschoolFreebieOfTheDay.com and sign up for their email list.  Each week, you’ll receive a notice about that week’s freebies.  There is one for each day M-F, and a bonus one that’s usually available all week.  I don’t use even 10% of the things they offer, but every now and then, there is a real gem!  That makes it worth it to me to have this one email per week in my in box.  Check them out for yourself!

Charlotte Mason High School

Well, I mentioned earlier that we are about to enter unknown territory this year – HIGH SCHOOL!  In a way, I’m really excited!  Many people who have gone before me testify that this is the time that all our training and working with our firstborn will really begin to bear fruit in the years ahead. 

In another way, I’m terrified!  This is where the proof will be in the pudding, so to speak!  Once she is done with her high school years, we will know if we were successful in leading her through her education, or if I was a complete failure!  We have only four more years of schooling to go, which seems surprisingly short to me.  I thought it would feel longer at this point.  I have realized how quickly the last fourteen years have gone, and I guess I’m just beginning to understand how short time really is! 

Well, you may be wondering, what are we going to do this year for her schooling?  Will we stick with the gentle ways of Charlotte Mason, or enter the realm of textbook teaching, ‘just to make sure’?  Will I continue to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide our education choices, or will I bow to the pressure from the ‘experts’ who will tell me just what to teach her and when?  Will I abandon the  tried and true ways of narration, picture study, dictation, and living books?  Well, here’s my answer:

I still love the ways of Charlotte Mason!  I still think this is the best way to give my child the best education.  I feel like becoming more purist in my CM approach to educating my daughter!

I am planning to use a lot of the materials recommended on the Ambleside Online website.  They have a great layout of curriculum suggestions for use in the CM approach to education.  I have not used it so much as a curriculum guide in the past, as it was too overwhelming for me to use all the different levels at the same time.  With my daughter being more independent in her studies, this year, however, I believe I will use the site as a guide for her curriculum. 

If you would like to get some ideas for yourself, be sure to take a look at www.amblesideonline.org  !

Would you like to have The Charlotte Mason Girl speak to your group?

Do You Need a Speaker for Your Support Group or Conference Workshop?

 

Let “The Charlotte Mason Girl” help you!

 

 (Here is the flyer I sent out to some of the support groups in my area.  I've already had three groups show interest in having me come!)

HI!  I’m Sue Pruett, and I have been teaching my children with the gentle ways of Charlotte Mason for 9 years.  I continue to study and learn of her ways, and constantly improve my methods.  I love this way of educating my children, and I desire to show others how gentle and natural this way is!  I am available to speak at groups or conventions – large or small – on a Charlotte Mason Education. 

 

I have 5 children, and so I can also add the perspective of a Mom of Many to my mix.  How do you achieve a good education for your school aged children, while not neglecting your pre-schoolers?  I can help answer that question!

 

Talk topics I can deliver:

• An Introduction to a Charlotte Mason Education
• Living books – how to pick them, how to obtain them, how to use them.
• Nature Study – Yes you CAN do it!
• Scheduling and a Charlotte Mason Education – can it work?
• You CAN start with a Charlotte Mason education Monday!(Or Tomorrow!)
• It IS Possible to Teach ALL Your Children Well!

 

 

I have been speaking for over 5 years at local homeschool support group meetings, encouraging moms in their homeschool journey.  I have a burden to see families not just survive, but thrive as they teach their children at home.  Let me come and encourage your families as I introduce them to the Charlotte Mason method of education!

 

My husband and I own Ancient Paths Christian Bookstore, and we have been involved in supplying families with great books since 2005.  We love to be a part of helping families disciple their children well, and we desire to continue doing so for many years to come.  In making myself available for speaking opportunities, we are furthering our mission of helping families disciple their children well.

 

To learn just how easy it is to have me come to your group or conference, please contact me through a comment here, or send me a note at sapruett {at} sbcglobal {dot} net.

 

 

Charlotte Mason Schedules

I know a lot of people wonder what a CM schedule looks like.  I get asked all the time what my schedule is like.  I think most people mean my daily schedule – and that’s a pretty straightforward answer – different every day!  That’s not always what I desire, it’s not what I have on paper, it’s not always because the neighbor is ill and needs a helping hand or a pot of soup, and it’s not always because things are so wonderful we just had to stop and smell the roses!  It’s just the nature of having six people being together all the time, and life happens in your home, as well as outside your home!  Having said all of that, I still believe it is beneficial to have a schedule (or, if you prefer, a routine) to guide you in your day.  One of the most exhausting things for a mother is all the decisions that have to be made on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis!  If we have a schedule, or a routine, it takes some of the decision making burden off of our shoulders.

So, back to the original question, what does Charlotte Mason scheduling look like?  I’m sure that you could obtain hundreds (maybe more?!) of ideas on what a CM schedule looks like.  We are all free to do what the Lord leads us to do.  However, we do want to see how others do it, for inspiration for ourselves.  Well, here is a link to a sample of the PNEU schools run by Miss Mason: http://amblesideonline.org/PR/PR19p899Timetables.shtml  Notice two things – the schedule starts at 9am, and ends at 11:30 am for younger students, at 1pm for older students, and the schedule goes for six days a week.  Now, this was for a school that was run by Miss Mason.  There is nothing in the schedule that calls for cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast, making lunch, doing laundry, or any of the other 1,000’s of responsibilities we have as mothers.  In other words, while Miss Mason oversaw the education of many students, she didn’t have the responsibility for preparing meals, doing laundry, bathing babies, or occupying toddlers as she was trying to accomplish her lessons.  For this reason, I don’t think it’s realistic to expect our families to follow this schedule precisely, but, as I said, it’s good for inspiration. 

Notice that even the most advanced students completed schooling before lunch.  I think this is a worthy goal.  Just think how great it would feel to be done with school by lunch!  If you have little ones that nap in the afternoon, however, it may work best for you to save some school time for this time.  Our little ones come along for a lot of our schooling, but math is best done without distractions, and so I often try to save this for a time the little ones are napping, or otherwise occupied.

"Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.”  This is one of the most often quoted statements that Miss Mason made.  It really is true.  A schedule can help bring that atmosphere of education into our homes.  The discipline of following a schedule or routine helps build good habits in our children (and us!). 

I hope I have inspired you to consider what type of schedule you would like to have for the upcoming school year.  Please, let us know what you have done in the past that has worked, or what you plan to do this year for your family’s schedule.  It’s always inspiring to see what someone else does!

Another great Nature Study

Well, the children and I had another wonderful exposure to nature yesterday!  We had a snake on our driveway.  I was so thrilled.  (Can you see the tongue in my cheek?!)  Our three year old threw rocks at it, and then wanted to pick it up.  Our five year old came screaming for me to come outside, quick!  The 8, 11, and 14 year olds were trying to protect the snake from harm, while getting a good look at it before it disappeared into the woods. 

I thought it must be a huge rattlesnake the way the children were carrying on!  I admit I was a bit nervous as I headed out to the driveway.  I wasn’t sure what I would find, and I didn’t know how I was going to respond.  I don’t love snakes the way my oldest son does.  I approached slowly, and in a stance that indicated I was ready to run at any minute. 

 

What do you think I saw?  A little grass snake no bigger around than my little finger, and about 15 inches long was making its way to the grass.  WHEW!  I got close then and looked it over good!  How cute!  I still didn’t want to touch it.  But I wasn’t scared any more. 

 

My son informed us that this particular snake is completely harmless.  Our oldest daughter told me when they first saw the snake and the path it traveled.  We watched it until it disappeared into the grass.  We couldn’t tell if it went into a hole, or just got lost in a clump of grass.  We encountered a big ugly spider as we were trying to move the grass around to see the snake again.  I don’t pick up and move big ugly spiders.  However, now my children know what a little grass snake looks like, they know how it moves, they know it wants to get away from people, and they know that mom won’t faint when she sees one!

 

My son told us about the spider, too.  We learned a lot.  I’m so glad to have my son here, or my kids would never learn anything about spiders and snakes but – “Look out!  There’s a snake/spider!  Get away from it!”  I’m praying the Lord will give me more tolerance for these creatures He saw fit to create!  Maybe someday, I’ll even have some curiosity about them! 

 

Our nature journals are still packed – I guess we’d better hunt them up and get them out.  Who knows when another great nature lesson will present itself!

Copywork using Charlotte Mason style

One of my favorite things – OK, I know I have waay too many favorites! – about CM schooling is copywork!  It’s one of the best, most relaxed parts of a CM education, yet it can seem such a mystery to many who are just learning about this style of educating their children. 

Copywork is exactly what it sounds like – your child will copy something each day into his notebook.  When they are younger, it will be shorter items – one sentence, one proverb, or one phrase.  As they mature into stronger writers, they will copy longer passages – poems, paragraphs, psalms, songs, etc.

So much is accomplished through this one little exercise!  They get handwriting practice, they pick up word usage, grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, putting thoughts together coherently, they learn to pay careful attention to detail, they think deep thoughts!  WOW!  Can you believe so much can happen in just a few minutes a day!  It’s true! 

I know what your thinking – WAIT!  WHAT do they copy?!  Where do I get the material?!  Which pencil should they use?  Can they use a pen?  What’s the best paper?  HELP!

I will respond with my favorite answer – relax.  It’s really going to be OK.  You already have the best book ever – the Holy Scriptures.  You also know how to find great living books and use them for narration.  (If you missed that post, see it here.)  Your children likely already have a favorite poet or book of poems.  Now, they just need their favorite writing utensil, and a piece of paper!  (As for what they use – you are the teacher, which means YOU get to decide!  If you think it’s ok for a 7 year old to use a pen, then let them!)  For the paper, you can go as simple as one of those spiral bound notebooks on sale at your local store right now for about $.15, or as fancy as colored lined paper with pictures on it to decorate and put it in a page protector in a binder.

Now, pick up one of those great books you have, and find a passage that your student likes, or you like, or you want them to think about more, and have them start writing!  This is an important place to pick excellent works.  Miss Mason wanted children to be exposed to great works so they could begin to think great thoughts.  Stay away from silly poetry or songs or stories for your school time.  Those can be enjoyed outside of school time occasionally, but they should not be contemplated during this time.

You want to pick a passage that your student can complete in about 10 minutes of writing time.  This sounds short because, well, it IS!  It’s supposed to be!  Have you written for more than 10 minutes continuously lately?  If not, give it a try.  You’ll see how taxing this can be to someone just starting to write regularly.  You want to also make it short enough so they can copy it WELL in 10 minutes.  The way they are going to learn grammar, word usage, punctuation and all that other wonderful stuff is to do it correctly!  Keep in mind the saying – “Perfect practice makes perfect!”  They won’t learn it correctly unless they do it correctly.  For this reason, I usually have my grade-schoolers use a pencil for copywork – it’s much easier to fix a mistake!  For this reason, I also insist that they copy the passage EXACTLY as it is written.  I have them keep correcting until it looks like the passage they are copying.  If it takes longer than 15 minutes, we will put it away and come back to it tomorrow.

I know, that messes up my schedule of the five passages they were supposed to copy this week!  What is more important, that they “put out” lots of pages, or that they learn the correct way to punctuate a sentence?  If I’m more concerned with the volume of output than the quality of the work done, I have turned a wonderful tool into nothing but twaddle.  Miss Mason would be ashamed!

So, grab your bible, a piece of paper, and a pencil, and have your student copy your favorite verse!  You’ve just done copywork using Charlotte Mason style!

Great sale at Notebookingpages.com!

I only have a few minutes, but I wanted to let you know about the great sale Debra has going on at Notebookingpages.com  She has everything in her store on sale for half price!  You can buy everything in her store for $50, or you can get one item for half price.  I encourage you to check it out.

 

We incorporate notebooking into our schooling, and the pages that Debra has are our favorite resource!  You can find pages that are specific to certain studies – presidents, birds, flowers, etc., or pages that can be used for any subject you wish.

 

If you buy her total store package for $50, you will also receive gifts from nine other publishers as a bonus.  This is a great time to go get everything she has at a great price, and some great bonuses. 

 

Be sure to visit NotebookingPages.com Back-to-School Sale Event - 50% Off by clicking on the name, or on the box to the right!