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!

More Ideas on Using Poetry in Homeschool

I promised you last time that I'd let you know how you can make poetry one of YOUR favorite times!  The first step is always to pick the greatest!  When you read the great poets to your children - their hearts will swell with emotion, their minds will drink in the beauty, their whole being will be drawn into the sounds of the language of the poems.  Have you ever read something beautiful, and you just had to stop and dwell on it?  Perhaps a favorite scripture, a passage from a favorite story, or a beautiful poem caught you up, and you stayed there for a bit, just enjoying saying the words or thinking about how well they were put together?   You can inspire that same awe and appreciation for beautiful language in your own children!

Ok, how do we do this?  Well, I believe the first step is to make poetry one of the first things you do in a day.  Whether you read a bit of poetry during breakfast, or right after some scripture reading, or at the beginning of your 'school' time, make sure that poetry comes early in the day.  What would set a better mood and pattern for our day than enjoying beautiful language that conveys noble ideals?

 

I say, make sure you give your children dessert first!  Of course we need to teach math, science, reading - all these things are necessary to live life.  However, I believe that when we inspire children with things worth living for - love, beauty, truth, nobility - they will have the desire within themselves needed to study all subjects well.  

 

Are you in need of some ideas of poets or resources to help you find some great poetry to read?  Here are a few to get you started:

Some poets to consider:  Emily Dickinson, Robert Louis Stevenson, A.A. Milne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Alfred Tennyson, Robert Frost ...  This list can be never-ending!

 

Go to your local library, and look at books on the shelves with the Dewey Decimal number 811.  These will be books of poetry, and you can peruse them in the library, and check out the greatest, most beautiful, most noble books on the shelf and bring them home to share with your children.

 

If you desire more ideas, you might look to amblesideonline.com for a list of poets, and links to poems online.  

 

I will close with this thought from a great article I read recently:  "We must read our poets and learn them by heart till our minds are full of the best thoughts and the loveliest expressions that the world has yet uttered; and be sure that as we read and learn, our own appreciation will grow, and we shall begin to understand more fully why we must teach our little ones only what is good, and why we are doing them a real wrong if we let their minds be filled with what is poor and trivial, while all the world's richest treasures are lying ready for them to take and use as their own possessions."

 

Are you enjoying poetry in your own home?  Who is your favorite poet?

First Steps of Studying Poetry

Now that you know WHY you need to study poetry - we can start the fun of actually studying it!  This is so easy, it will feel like cheating!

 

As you know, Charlotte Mason thought that if you wanted to give a child a living education, you need to feed their mind living ideas.  In other words, give them the good stuff, and get out of the way!  

 

How do you accomplish this in the study of poetry?  You read great poetry to your children.  

 

Told you it was easy.  

 

A few guidelines you might keep in mind:

Choose poetry that is within your child's grasp - make sure that they will understand the ideas contained in the poem.  If you have a 6 year old, you willl not want to start with Paradise Lost. (hehe...)  Our favorites for the younger years are Robert Louis Stevenson, A.A. Milne, and Emily Dickinson.  

Once you and your child are comfortable reading and discussing poetry, and doing the work of grasping the meaning of what you are reading, you are ready to stretch yourselves!  Try a new poet, try a new type of poetry, try a new subject matter.  Show your child (and yourself!) how our language can be used to captivate the imagination and inspire us to greatness.  The beauty of poetry is that it will grab you and your child by the emotions and teach so much more than a mere narrative could.  We want our children to experience the passion of good vs. evil, the sorrow of loss, and the joy of friendship - there is no better messenger than a well-written poem.  

 

Next time, I'll share some more ideas with you about how to make the study of poetry one of your family's favorite times!  I'll share some of our favorite poets and poems you will want to read to your children - you'll love it!

 

Why Poetry is Important in Your Homeschool

I told you last time how I dreaded poetry, but that since I have used poetry in our homeschool, I have grown to LOVE it!  Let's talk today about WHY poetry is important to your homeschool.  

 

Charlotte Mason said, "Poetry is, perhaps, the most searching and intimate of our teachers."  Have you ever noticed that a great poem can instruct your heart in a few short lines better than a whole book on the subject?  For example, in John Donne's Holy Sonnet X, the last three lines read:

 

"One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And Death shall be no more; 

Death, thou shalt die."

 

Dwell on those lines for a moment.  Are you encouraged?  Are you less fearful?  Are you thinking more noble thoughts?  Poetry does that!

 

In teaching my children that there is nothing to fear about death, I share scriptures that point to eternal life, being with Jesus, and we often talk about what eternity will be like (one of my children doesn't like talking about eternity - "It's too hard to imagine!").  We have a lot of great conversations about what it will be like in heaven.  

 

When my 8 year old (at the time) son memorized this poem, and recited these lines with passion, I knew that he had obtained the truth we had been talking about.  Those few lines sealed to his heart the truth about death - it is a door to eternity.  We were all taken up with the emotion of the poem as J expressed with his voice, eyes, and his whole body the message in those words!  

 

There is a wealth of poetry out there - written by good and noble people - that teaches us in ways no other subject can.  

 

In the movie "Dead Poets Society", Robin Williams says to his English Literature class, “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute.  We read and write Poetry because we are part of the human race.  And the human race is filled with passion.  Medicine, law, business, engineering – these are noble pursuits, and necessary to sustain life, but poetry, beauty, romance, love – these are what we stay alive for."  Then he goes on to quote Whittman:

“O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring;

Of the endless trains of the faithless--of cities fill'd with the foolish;...

The question, O me! so sad, recurring--What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.

That you are here--that life exists, and identity;

That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse."

 

Does that not make you want to do great things?!  I am inspired!

 

Who is your favorite poet?  Don't have one, yet?  Well, next time, I'll share how you can get started using poetry in your homeschool - and you may just discover a passion you didn't know you had!

Let's Talk About Poetry!

I am starting a series of blog posts today on poetry.  I have never done a series of posts, so this is new for me, and I hope you enjoy it!

Did you love poetry in your growing up years?  I didn't.  Well, let me re-phrase that, I like Mother Goose, and I enjoyed all the funny songs I learned in pre-school!  When it came to 'higher' poetry, though, I was LOST.  I remember being told about various types of poems (sonnet, limerick, haiku, couplets, etc!), how to chart the pattern of rhyming words in a poem,  the mechanics of poems, and FINALLY, we read poems.  

 

Personally, I had lost the ability to enjoy the poems I read, because I knew I was going to be quizzed on all the 'parts', the type, and the pattern of the rhyme (if there were any rhyming words).  So, I read every poem looking for all the different labels I could put on it, rather than just enjoy the message of the poem!  I did well on the tests, though!

 

Now, when I began to homeschool my children in the ways of Charlotte Mason, I learned that there were many parts that would enrich my children's education - including poetry.  YIKES!  I also heard a lot about how my enthusiasm was important to everything I taught, because my children would catch my excitement - or lack thereof.  HOW was I going to teach poetry??  I had forgotten most of what I had learned, and I hadn't read any poetry in years - unless you count birthday cards.  I HAD no enthusiasm for poetry.  HOW was I going to get it??

 

Well, next time we'll talk about why poetry is so important to your student's education, and how that convinced me to take the plunge into poetry.  You know what?  Poetry is now one of my favorite parts of our homeschool!  It can become a favorite for you, too!

 

So, where are you at, now?  Do you love poetry?  Dread it?  Ignore it?   

Using Poetry in Your Homeschool

 

Well, I thought this would be a good time to share with you how you can use poetry well in your homeschool!  We have gotten into our homeschool year, now, and we are having a lot of fun with all these subjects that are often considered “extras” in school.  It’s easy to see how this happens.  We focus on reading, writing and math, and that can take up much time and energy, add to that the homemaker responsibilities we have, and we don’t feel we have time to do anything else.  Fortunately, it can be easy to incorporate poetry into your homeschool!

 

Charlotte Mason said about poetry - “Poetry is, perhaps, the most searching and intimate of our teachers.”  And – “Poetry, too, supplies us with tools for the modeling of our lives, and the use of these we must get at for ourselves.”  Aren’t these great benefits from reading and memorizing poetry? 

 

Once again, the aspect of letting the material instruct the child comes up.  Poetry is something that is only harmed when the teacher comes between the child and the material.  If you keep the poem to your breast, and let the child read it only after you have given a lecture about the poet, the meaning of the poem, and the type of poem it is, you have dampened the child’s enthusiasm to discover some new thing.  However, if the child is first introduced to the words the poet put to paper, the child discovers wonderful things on their own!

 

Our son recited the poem “Death be Not Proud” by John Donne when he was 8 years old.  Imagine hearing a boy put voice to these words:

 

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy picture[s] be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke;  why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more;  Death, thou shalt die

 

I must tell you, I got goosebumps when I heard him recite this poem for the family!  As he worked on memorizing the poem, the words began to speak to him.  I didn’t work with him as he memorized, he did it on his own.  By the time he recited it to us, he had gotten the feelings behind the poem, and he expressed them well as he recited the words!  As the lines found their way into his memory, he had a chance to ponder them, to digest them, and he experienced something Miss Mason wrote about.  She said, “As we 'inwardly digest,' reverence comes to us unawares, gentleness, a wistful tenderness towards the past…”  I could see it in my son’s eyes, hear it in his voice, in the cadence of his speech, in the way he held his body as he spoke.  He understood that the words had depth and much meaning to them.  WOW!  All from memorizing a poem!

 

Next time, I’ll share some more ideas on using poetry in your homeschool.  Meanwhile, will you share with me how you like to use poetry in your home?