The Charlotte Mason Girl

The Extras That are Not Extra

Caring for sick children is never on my list of things to do, but when I get the opportunity to care for a sick child, I am blessed.  Not that it's easy, or I enjoy cleaning up after a sick child, but I get a new closeness with that child.  When she is feeling awful, and looks to me for comfort with those pleading eyes, I hate that I can't make it all go away.  I can, however, make her feel a little better with comforting words, back scratches, cuddling, and reading some favorite stories.  After she is feeling better, she comes to sit on my lap, and tells me I am the best mommy.  Makes it worth every minute!

 

Well, since I missed posting yesterday, I thought I'd step back for a moment, and begin my next series of Monday posts with a quick note about teaching what we might often consider to be the 'extras' in education.  In fact, some of these subjects may end up far enough down our list, that we seldom get around to doing them.  Why is that?  For me, I think I used to think of these things as dessert.  If we get all the 'academics' in today, THEN we can do a picture study.  After math, we can read some poetry.  We'll listen to beautiful music after we get done with our reading lesson.  Of course, fidgety little ones, needing to care for the baby in the midst of lessons, my own moods, lack of enthusiasm in my children, and the cares of housework often intruded on our lessons, and by the time I had fought my way through the basics, I was done in for the day - and so were the children!

 

It wasn't until I had been teaching for several years, that I realized that I had been thinking about these 'extras' all wrong.  They really aren't extras at all!  Picture Study, Poetry, Composer Study, Handicrafts, Foreign Language, Shakespeare, Hymn Study, Folk Songs, Nature Study - these are NOT just some extras to throw in when you have some time and energy!  These are the studies that breathe life into our education.  These are the things that make for interesting discoveries.  These are the subjects that our children will probably enjoy the most - and us, too!  These are the studies that will cause us and our children to be well-educated, and well-rounded as persons. 

 

Have you ever been around someone who knew all kinds of interesting things about the world?  They saw how the happenings in the world around them now were similar to a Shakespeare play, or a poem by Longfellow, or some scene reminded them of a painting by Fragonard.  Didn't you just want to talk to them for a bit, and soak up some of their knowledge?  We will discover over the next few weeks that our children can become those interesting people that see the beauty in things all around them - if we just take a few minutes a day to infuse them with the beautiful things that have been created by the greatest.  Not only that, but you may just find that your days go better when you include some of these interesting items right at the beginning of your day!  

 

How about you - what is your 'extra' that you most want to include, but find it's tough to do?  

 

Yesterday's Classics - You Are Not Going to Believe This!

I have started to write this review several times, now.  Have you ever been so excited about something, and wanted to say just the right thing, but get tongue-tied trying to get your thoughts out?  That's JUST how I feel this week!  I have been perusing 225 books - in Kindle or EPUB format - that are going to be a fantastic addition to our home's digital library.  I can read the EPUB format right on my computer.  These titles are being offered by Yesterday's Classics and Ancient Paths Christian Bookstore, and you won't believe the price - I'll tell you in a minute!

                                



The collection of books is astounding!  There are British history books, American history books, World history books from the earliest civilizations through the American Civil War and beyond, books of poetry, nature stories, Tales From Shakespeare and Beautiful Stories From Shakespeare, myths and fables, and stories of great faith.  You could literally keep your children busy throughout their school years with these books.  If any of your children complete the entire list of books, they will have a great education!  

 

                   

 

There are stories about explorers and their adventures, scientists and their discoveries, inventors and their inventions.  Too many to go on.  You can see the complete list of books (in Kindle or EPUB format) with a brief description for EACH title here.  

Here is just one example of the information you can find at Yesterday's Classics:

"The Story of the Greeks
by Helene A. Guerber
Elementary history of Greece, made up principally of stories about persons, giving at the same time a clear idea of the most important events in the ancient world and calculated to enforce the lessons of perseverance, courage, patriotism, and virtue that are taught by the noble lives described. Beginning with the legends of Jason, Theseus, and events surrounding the Trojan War, the narrative moves on to present the contrasting city-states of Sparta and Athens, the war against Persia, their conflicts with each other, the feats of Alexander the Great, and annexation by Rome. Ages 10-14. 365 Pages
	Paperback  $13.95"

You can see that there is enough information here to tell you if this book will fit with your current studies, or be enjoyed as a great free-reading selection.  You notice that the book is available in paperback for just $13.95.  That's pretty good for a good book, however, you can get this ENTIRE COLLECTION of 225 classic titles in Kindle or EPUB format for the unbelievable price of $99.95!  If you were to buy each of these books seperately in paperback, you would spend about $2,500.  If you were to buy each Kindle or EPUB edition seperately, you would spend about $650.  I think that $99.95, or $.44 each, is a deal that is just too good to pass up!  Many of you use Ambleside Online, Living Books Curriculum, or Heart of Dakota as a guide to your book selection.  Many, many of these titles are on these recommended book lists.  I cannot wait to get my own children started on them!

 

No matter what your interest is - there are several books in this collection for you.  Studying Ancient Greece?  There are 30 titles that you can choose from.  Ancient Rome?  18 titles.  Want to start exploring some science with your grade-schooler?  7 titles.  Do you see why I am SO EXCITED?!!  I hope you will hop on over to check out these titles and this great deal!  Come back and let me know what you think!

Preparing for CHEO

Time flies when you are having fun!  We have been busy beavers here, preparing to go to Ohio to participate in CHEO's homeschool convention.  We will be leaving IL later this week and make the trek to my sister-in-law's home, then on to Akron for the convention.  I am so looking forward to meeting many new people!  

 

I'll be speaking 3 times. In my Introduction to Charlotte Mason, I'll be sharing why whether you are new to homeschooling, or a veteran of many years, the methods of Miss Charlotte Mason are worth checking into!  In this seminar, I will will introduce you to the gentle, natural, successful methods developed over a century ago by a woman dedicated to seeing that every child receive an excellent education.  I will hit the highlights of a CM education in this introductory session.

 

In the session titled "The Extras That Aren't Extra", I'll share about the rich elements of a Charlotte Mason education.  Music, Composer Study, Artist Study, Handcrafts, Folk Songs, Hymns, Foreign Language, Free reading, and Poetry.  Do these sound like the always-just-out-of-reach icing on the cake?  Do you feel you have too much else to do, and you just can’t fit in all these ‘fun’ studies?  Are these just special treats reserved for the super-organized mom sitting next to you at home school group?  Well, I would like to encourage you that you CAN do these, and give your children the excellent education you desire for them!  These subjects are just as vital as history, math, and science to your curriculum!  Come, learn how you can have that icing on the cake – and give it to your children, as well – even first thing in the morning!  (Now who’s mother ever told them to have dessert first?!)

 

Last, I'll share a talk on Nature Studies.  Nature Studies sound so wonderful – and intimidating, don’t they?  We are blessed to have a wonderful guide for us in Miss Charlotte Mason!  She advocated getting children into the out of doors every day, in all kinds of weather, and in all kinds of spaces.  Whether you have no yard of your own at all, or you have acres of land right outside your door, it IS possible to give your children an excellent education about God’s creation.  Join us at this session to discover how!

 

I love talking about Charlotte Mason's methods, and sharing the fruit of using them in our own family!  I'll be taking a few minutes after each session to answer questions about Charlotte's methods and how we have used them, as well.  I hope to see many of you there!  

 

So, tell me, what is YOUR biggest burning question about homeschooling with the methods developed by Charlotte Mason?

Time Flies When you are B-U-S-Y!

I have been so busy having a great time with my children for the past three months!  First it was a couple of conventions, then it was getting back into the routine of school, lately it's been that spring finally sprung - and we have been racing to keep up with all the grass, garden, and trail upkeep.  Our spring was incredibly wet, and we have had to jump out and take care of outdoor chores when a dry day would present itself.  

 

The homeschooliing lifestyle is so wonderful!  I can't imagine having to keep someone else's schedule while trying to keep up with all the things that need to get done in our home and in our lives!  I am so thankful that I get to live this life with my children.

 

We have had some incredible nature studies this spring.  In our clean up of 'the clearing' in our woods (so dubbed by our children), we found a dead tree with loose bark.  My five-year old inadvertently pulled a chunk of the bark off, to reveal a huge colony of ants.  We discovered it was the ants that were leaving an interesting pattern in the wood of our dead trees.  We had seen the pattern on several exposed logs, and couldn't figure out what would leave that double-fan pattern of shallow trenches in the wood.  Now - we know!  

 

My five year old - for the first time - decided on his own to do a nature sketch!  He brought a walnut in, and sketched it several times in his nature notebook.  I was surprised at how well he did this.  It's so fun for me to see how my children have all taken so well to some aspect of our Charlotte Mason education.  One loves to write, some love the stories of history, one loves our math experimentation (he just loves math, and loves to try all the different programs!).  They all have something they are taking to (and some things they would rather not do).  Mostly, I think we all enjoy being together and working through our lessons together.  

 

I'm so glad we have this life!  How about you - what do you like about homeschooling?  The year is winding down for many of us, and we are looking forward to the different routine of summer.  It's a good time to reflect back on the year - and relish the good times.  Tell me, do you feel like this year has been a success - why or why not?  Are you looking forward to the break in routine?  Are you going to continue school through the summer?  

 

I love to hear from you all!  Two-way conversations are so much better!

Another Owl Box

Some of you may have joined me in watching Molly and McGee last year.  They were two common barn owls, but because Carlos had put an owlbox equipped with a camera up, we got to see into their lives.  We watched them raise their first two clutches of owlets - from the laying of the eggs, to the final fledge of the last owlet.  

 

Have you, like me, kind of missed the screeching just before bedtime?  I'll never forget the first time I heard that horrid noise!  I thought my computer was broken.  hehehe.....  This year, Carlos and Donna decided to have a life, and not stream any video from their owlbox.  However, many other people are streaming video of all kinds of wildlife on the same website - sportsman's paradise.  I found a camera showing Mel & Sydney that I've been watching this evening.  I think I'll introduce them to the children tomorrow morning!  

 

I encourage you to head on over, and spend a little time observing some wildlife.  I think Charlotte would approve!  Please, share with us if you know of any other helps online for nature study in the comment section below.  I, like many other homeschooling moms, am always on the hunt for new sources to help me in my quest to give my children an excellent education!

Nature Study Book

I have decided to put together a book on Nature Study.  Charlotte Mason said that it is vital for our children to spend HOURS outside in their young years.  It's good for body and mind.  I have seen how my children benefit from being outside as much as possible, and that when I join them, I do better, too.  So, I am going to put together a book about our adventures out of doors, and I would like to ask for your input.  

 

Among other benefits, Charlotte Mason said, "At the same time, here is the mother's opportunity to train the seeing eye, the hearing ear, and to drop seeds of truth into the open soul of the child, which shall germinate, blossom, and bear fruit, without further help or knowledge of hers."  I love this about Charlotte Mason - she is constantly reminding me that my children will learn all that the Lord wants them to learn, if I will allow them time to explore, ask questions, and think about all they have seen and heard and touched and thought upon!  Nature Study is the time I think we see the hand of God the clearest.  We have benefitted so much from the time we have spent in the study of nature, and I want to inspire your family to gain as much from your time outside! 

 

If you leave a comment below, I will enter you into a drawing for a free copy of my nature study book, upon it's completion.  In your comment, ask your biggest, most important to you question about nature study.  I will promise to answer these questions in my book, and I will pick one of you commentors to receive a free copy!  

Live Owl Nest Box Cam CM Nature Study for the 21st Century!

WOW! This is absolutely fascinating!  Unless you have a pair of Barn Owls nesting that you can see right outside your own window - this is the place you need to be visiting with your students, and RIGHT NOW!     

One of my friends sent me the link to this website about a week ago, and it is so neat to watch.  The man who put up the box and the camera is a layman who wanted to see barn owls in action, and he has done it, and decided to share it with the world!  His name is Carlos, and he set this box up a couple of years ago, I think.  He said this year, the pair of Barn owls - named Molly and McGee - built themselves a little home for their new family.  Molly laid six eggs back in February, and there is only one left to hatch.  It appears that she is showing signs today of preparing for the egg to hatch, so they are expecting the egg to hatch within the next 24 hours!  Be sure to get over there with your students right away!

I think Charlotte Mason would have approved of this type of opportunity for nature study, don't you?!

How to Start Homeschool?

 

When I was in Carbondale a few weeks ago, I was asked a number of questions, and I requested the ladies write down other questions they had.  I thought I would answer those questions here, and also recruit help from you to answer them, too!  There is no one size fits all to a CM education.

 

I thought I’d start at the beginning.  I have had times that I’ve been stopped in the store with my children by a mother who inquires whether we homeschool.  When I answer that yes, we do, the next question is often from her heart – she wants to know how to start homeschool with her own children.  She sees someone up close and personal who is doing it, and she wants to know how she can do it, too.  It’s a scary thought, but often times, mothers know there must be something better for their children than what they are currently doing, they just don’t know how to do it.  When they meet someone who has all (or most) of her marbles, even though she is doing something as monumental as educating her own children, they believe it might just be possible for them to do it, too!

 

Other times, another homeschooling mom is looking for something to make her life a little easier, and she will ask how she can start homeschool with the methods of Charlotte Mason. 

 

I always have to give a little disclaimer here.  I LOVE the CM method of education!  I can’t imagine doing our home schooling any other way!  I am passionate about helping homeschoolers find easier, better ways to educate their children!  The disclaimer is this – I do realize that other people do a fantastic job of educating their own children with some other method.  I know that Miss Mason’s methods aren’t the only methods that successfully educate children.  So, although I can’t imagine educating my children any other way – I know it’s not the only good way to educate children.  I don’t want anyone thinking that I feel that I’m superior in my homeschool because of our method. 

 

OK, back to the question from moms who want to know how to start homeschool in their own homes.  I feel that the best place to start is where your child is!  Do you have a child that loves to be read to?  Then living books is the place to start!  Get a great story book and start reading.  If your child is old enough (Over 6, at least!) start narration with this story.  Read a little and ask her to tell the story back to you in her own words.  You’ll know right away if the story connected with her imagination. 

 

Do you have a child who loves to be outdoors and enjoying the fresh air and open space?  Start with nature study!  Point out an interesting bug, plant, flower, squirrel, bird, snake, frog, caterpillar – whatever! – and encourage your child to stop and really look at it.  Ask your child to narrate your special find – to tell you what they see, in as much detail as they can.  (No pressure this time!)  Your child may even want to imitate what they are seeing – let him!  It’s his way of narrating.  Eventually, you will want to put a pencil and a piece of paper in their hand and ask them to draw the thing they see – or at least a portion of it.  (A whole tree may be too much to ask – start with a leaf from the tree.)

 

Do you have a child who loves to write?  Start with copywork!  If you start small enough, you can even use copywork to encourage your reluctant writer to love writing!  Some Charlotte Mason copywork suggestions are – scripture, poetry, songs, hymns, great quotes from great men and women, passages from great books, etc.  Just have your child copy something in about 10 minutes – and have them do it perfectly.  If they make mistakes, repeat the same lesson tomorrow.  Spend just 10 minutes a day to start – that’s all it takes.

 

Does your child love to create works of art?  OK, so maybe they won’t have a showing in the trendy art studios in New York any time soon, but everyone has to start somewhere!  Show your child great works of art.  If you live near an art museum, take them to see the art live and in person.  (You will need to exercise wisdom here – not all ‘art’ is good, you know!)  You can purchase an art book, or you can look at art online.  It’s not the same as seeing it in person, but it’s still exposure to great art.  Have your child try their hand at imitating what they see.  This will inspire your child to create more and better works of their own.

 

So, go ahead and try one of these things.  This is how to start homeschool in your home with the methods of Charlotte Mason.  You can start today!  (Or tomorrow, if you are reading this while your children are in bed!)

 

Please, share with me your stories of how you started out in your homeschooling.  I think those who haven’t yet taken the plunge would be encouraged to see that others have done it and lived to tell about it!  They want to know how to start homeschool in their homes, and they will benefit from your stories!

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!

Getting in touch with the Creator through His creation

I have already shared with you my favorite aspect of using CM method in our homeschool – it’s all the great books and how easy it is to teach your children wonderful things from living books!

Well, running a VERY close second in my book is nature study!  We love it!  Nature study is another large part of a CM education.  In fact in the early years of education, if you do a great job using living books, and spend a lot of time outdoors doing nature study, you have a well-balanced beginning to your children’s education.  Add in teaching them to read for themselves, and the beginnings of some understanding of basic math concepts and your children have a fantastic start in their educational journey.

So, how do we do nature study?  It’s so simple!  You go outdoors where there are living things, and you observe! REALLY!  It can be done in a postage stamp of a back yard, at the local park, in the country, in the woods; a few lessons could even be done around a single tree growing up through the sidewalk near your city apartment!  We have had great nature studies.  Some I planned and some just happened because we were available when God wanted to show us something really neat.

This is putting your children in touch with the Creator through His creation.  Just as you put your children’s minds in touch with great minds through living books, you are able to put them in touch, so to speak, with God through His living creation.

We have a postage stamp of a backyard.  It’s got some grass, some weeds, bare dirt patches, and some rock usually works itself up every year from the time that most of the yard was a gravel driveway, and we have a bird feeder that my oldest son made for me for Mother’s Day one year.  However, we have had some great nature studies there!  My children have observed worms working in the dirt, seen the birds come and get some of the worms, they have seen how grass grows, the flowers develop on dandelions into seed that they have fun blowing in the wind (I’m sure our neighbors love that!), but the greatest lesson happened last summer, and I didn’t plan it at all!  My 7 year old took her bug catcher outside and found herself a caterpillar.  She put it in the box with some twigs and grass and a bit of water.  By the time the evening came around, the beginnings of a cocoon was being formed in the little box!  We were so excited!  The next morning, there was just a little cocoon and some twigs and grass in the box.  Where had the caterpillar gone?  I got to explain to Esther about how caterpillars do this before they mature into butterflies.  For about two weeks, Esther checked on her little cocoon several times a day, and she was letting me know how it looked each day – there wasn’t much change, and I thought she might get bored with it before the next event happened, but she didn’t!  After about two weeks, she went out to check on it, and she found something so exciting in her box!  The leftovers of a cocoon, some twigs, dried out grass, and a moth!  We learned which caterpillars will turn into moths!  We took a couple of pictures, and then I told her to let the moth go right away so he could get some food! 

Now, there are some great books, worksheets, videos, etc. on the lifecycle of a moth.  Esther could have learned a lot from those types of things.  However, don’t you think that now she KNOWS what the lifecycle of a moth is like?  She got to live out the two week wait to see the moth.  She saw what the cocoon looked like every day for two weeks, she saw what the moth looked like within just a few hours of emerging from the cocoon, and she saw what the cocoon looked like when the moth was done with it.  Now, I do NOT know enough about caterpillars to be able to tell when one is about to go into the mode of building his cocoon!  I couldn’t have planned that lesson out if I’d spent weeks capturing caterpillars and waiting to see if they would build a cocoon in my little box.  But, the Lord wanted to teach Esther something about His creation, and His timing is perfect!  We still talk about that experience, and Esther is eagerly awaiting the next time to play outside, because maybe, just maybe, she will see something wonderful!

I read a book by Karen Andreola (the same one who wrote the Charlotte Mason Companion), called Pocketful of Pinecones.  It’s written like a mother’s journal by a young mother who is just beginning to educate her young children at home, and it details their nature study adventures.  It’s a wonderfully easy read, and it did help me to relax and not worry about having everything just right before we venture outside for nature study.  If you would like to get your own copy, you can see Pocketful of Pinecones at Ancient Paths Christian Bookstore. 

So, don’t be afraid to venture outdoors with your children and let them get in touch with the Creator through His creation!  You never know what He might have in store for your family.

Next time, I’ll share with you some great ideas for how to record your lessons from nature study!