Charlotte Mason...A Timeless Beautiful Woman
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Teaching Writing the CM Way
Writing the Charlotte Mason Way
What is the definition of writing? Think about it a minute...it might be as simple as making marks on a piece of paper, to writing our initial alphabet, or forming words that make since, or a more technical definition from the Merriam -Webster Dictionary which says this..."the act or process of one who writes; the activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing texts."
The majority of the work of composition is done in your head. The actual "writing" is simply a way of recording what you are thinking.
Tips from Charlotte Mason on Composition *Taken from Simply Charlotte Mason (SCM)
Grade Suggestions:
What is the definition of writing? Think about it a minute...it might be as simple as making marks on a piece of paper, to writing our initial alphabet, or forming words that make since, or a more technical definition from the Merriam -Webster Dictionary which says this..."the act or process of one who writes; the activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing texts."
The majority of the work of composition is done in your head. The actual "writing" is simply a way of recording what you are thinking.
Tips from Charlotte Mason on Composition *Taken from Simply Charlotte Mason (SCM)
Grade Suggestions:
Grades 1–3
Do mostly oral narration. You can include occasional written narrations, but the majority of the composition work should be oral to give your child plenty of practice in organizing his thoughts. If he does attempt to write all or part of a narration, do not worry too much about mechanics like punctuation and capitalization at this age. And don’t worry about direct teaching of composition yet. Encourage his efforts and concentrate on the mental part of composition at this level.
Grades 4–6
Now you can require more written narrations than you did in the lower grades. We all know how much faster the brain can work than the fingers can. At this level, give your child plenty of practice in getting his thoughts recorded on paper, but still don’t worry about any direct teaching of composition. As your child shows interest, you can work on some aspects of mechanics or word choice, but approach those aspects one or two points at a time. For example, you might focus on how to do punctuation within dialogue (She said, “Don’t forget the comma before the quotation marks.”). Once your child has mastered that particular point, work on another one.
Grades 7–9
By this level your child should be writing most of his narrations. You can continue working on improving his mechanics and word choices one or two points at a time, and at this age you can start asking for some of his narrations to be written in poetry form. But still there need be no direct teaching of composition.
Grades 10–12
By these grades your child should have developed his own style of writing, influenced by the many great authors he has read over the years in his CM education. So you can now give him some definite teaching in the art of composition, but not too much, still using the one-or-two-points-at-a-time method. This teaching will be more of an attempt at shaping his individual style, rather than trying to force it into a particular formula. “Having been brought up so far upon stylists the pupils are almost certain to have formed a good style; because they have been thrown into the society of many great minds, they will not make a servile copy of any one but will shape an individual style out of the wealth of material they possess; and because they have matter in abundance and of the best they will not write mere verbiage” (Vol. 6, p. 194).
Do mostly oral narration. You can include occasional written narrations, but the majority of the composition work should be oral to give your child plenty of practice in organizing his thoughts. If he does attempt to write all or part of a narration, do not worry too much about mechanics like punctuation and capitalization at this age. And don’t worry about direct teaching of composition yet. Encourage his efforts and concentrate on the mental part of composition at this level.
Grades 4–6
Now you can require more written narrations than you did in the lower grades. We all know how much faster the brain can work than the fingers can. At this level, give your child plenty of practice in getting his thoughts recorded on paper, but still don’t worry about any direct teaching of composition. As your child shows interest, you can work on some aspects of mechanics or word choice, but approach those aspects one or two points at a time. For example, you might focus on how to do punctuation within dialogue (She said, “Don’t forget the comma before the quotation marks.”). Once your child has mastered that particular point, work on another one.
Grades 7–9
By this level your child should be writing most of his narrations. You can continue working on improving his mechanics and word choices one or two points at a time, and at this age you can start asking for some of his narrations to be written in poetry form. But still there need be no direct teaching of composition.
Grades 10–12
By these grades your child should have developed his own style of writing, influenced by the many great authors he has read over the years in his CM education. So you can now give him some definite teaching in the art of composition, but not too much, still using the one-or-two-points-at-a-time method. This teaching will be more of an attempt at shaping his individual style, rather than trying to force it into a particular formula. “Having been brought up so far upon stylists the pupils are almost certain to have formed a good style; because they have been thrown into the society of many great minds, they will not make a servile copy of any one but will shape an individual style out of the wealth of material they possess; and because they have matter in abundance and of the best they will not write mere verbiage” (Vol. 6, p. 194).
Lessons of Wisdom
"The Fence"
No Greater Joy Ministries
"The Fence"
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a... nail into the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily, gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said “you have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.” You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there. Make sure you control your temper the next time you are tempted to say something you will regret later.
- Author Unknown
"The Fence"
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a... nail into the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily, gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said “you have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.” You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there. Make sure you control your temper the next time you are tempted to say something you will regret later.
- Author Unknown
Using Story Telling in Yur Homeschool
Using Storytelling in Your Homeschool
by Sheila Carroll
From Richard Chase “No, it’ll not do just to read the old tales out of a book. You’ve got to tell ‘em to make ‘em go right.” Jack Tales
Would you like more zest and joy in your homeschool? Try storytelling. “But I not good at telling stories,” you say? After years of teaching people of all ages and from all walks of life to tell stories, I have come to the steadfast conclusion that absolutely anyone can tell a story—if they want.
Storytelling is for everyone. An advanced academic degree is not a prerequisite. Storytelling is a life skill, like reading or cooking or working cooperatively with others. Being a storyteller in everyday life means you can share a lively anecdote to help your child understand a difficult concept or win a look of love from your child by telling a funny story to lighten the mood. By using storytelling in your homeschool you are bringing a great deal more than the enjoyment of stories. You are giving your children a foundation in orality. Just as literacy is the ability to read and write, orality is the ability to speak and listen. All four modes—reading, writing, speaking, and listening—make up human communication. Orality supports literacy. Storytelling is the highest form of orality. The oral language experiences like storytelling are crucial to literacy because literacy is more than reading a series of words on paper. It is a set of relationships and structures, a dynamic system that one internalizes and maps back onto experience. A person's success in orality determines whether he or she will 'take' to literacy. Put another way---the broader the range and depth of the oral experiences a child has in early childhood, the greater the range and depth of understanding they bring to the act of reading. How can your bring a greater orality to your homeschool?
Here a few simple, easy to do activities that require little or no preparation:
Read aloud to your children everyday. Pick stories and books that have a strong plot and rich use of language. Avoid adaptations of well-known stories or books. Do simple nursery rhymes and finger plays with your children. If you have older children, teach them so they can tell to the younger ones. The Living Books Foundation Year also includes a complete collection of finger plays, or your local librarian would help you find a collection. A few well-know rhymes are: “Jack and Jill”, “Hey, Diddle Diddle, the Cat and Fiddle”, “Little Miss Muffet”, and “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” Make storytelling a special time during the day or week. Tell stories about your own life. All children love to hear about when their parents were little. Tell simple well-known stories such as “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, “Ten Little Monkeys” (say-along story). See if your children can tell parts of the story themselves.
These are just of few of the many ways to use storytelling. For a more thorough discussion about the importance of orality in learning, see the in the Living Books Curriculum. To learn more about how to tell stories, try the following books or check your library. Teaching Guide , Sheila Dailey This is a book I wrote for those who would like to learn simple, easy to tell stories in less than ten minutes Putting the World in a Nutshell: the art of the formula tale,
Margaret Read MacDonald This is an easy-to-understand handbook that gets you started telling. The Storyteller's Start-Up Book: Finding, Learning, Performing, and Using Folktales: Including Twelve Tellable Tales , Ruth Sawyer This is a classic of storytelling literature and one of my favorites that I go to for inspiration. The Way of the Storyteller For websites, the two best are: (www.storynet.org)Story.Net (www.storytellingcenter.com) Story Telling Center
© Sheila Dailey Carroll, Living Books Curriculum All rights reserved. To request permission to reprint the above article email info@livingbookscurriculum.com
by Sheila Carroll
From Richard Chase “No, it’ll not do just to read the old tales out of a book. You’ve got to tell ‘em to make ‘em go right.” Jack Tales
Would you like more zest and joy in your homeschool? Try storytelling. “But I not good at telling stories,” you say? After years of teaching people of all ages and from all walks of life to tell stories, I have come to the steadfast conclusion that absolutely anyone can tell a story—if they want.
Storytelling is for everyone. An advanced academic degree is not a prerequisite. Storytelling is a life skill, like reading or cooking or working cooperatively with others. Being a storyteller in everyday life means you can share a lively anecdote to help your child understand a difficult concept or win a look of love from your child by telling a funny story to lighten the mood. By using storytelling in your homeschool you are bringing a great deal more than the enjoyment of stories. You are giving your children a foundation in orality. Just as literacy is the ability to read and write, orality is the ability to speak and listen. All four modes—reading, writing, speaking, and listening—make up human communication. Orality supports literacy. Storytelling is the highest form of orality. The oral language experiences like storytelling are crucial to literacy because literacy is more than reading a series of words on paper. It is a set of relationships and structures, a dynamic system that one internalizes and maps back onto experience. A person's success in orality determines whether he or she will 'take' to literacy. Put another way---the broader the range and depth of the oral experiences a child has in early childhood, the greater the range and depth of understanding they bring to the act of reading. How can your bring a greater orality to your homeschool?
Here a few simple, easy to do activities that require little or no preparation:
Read aloud to your children everyday. Pick stories and books that have a strong plot and rich use of language. Avoid adaptations of well-known stories or books. Do simple nursery rhymes and finger plays with your children. If you have older children, teach them so they can tell to the younger ones. The Living Books Foundation Year also includes a complete collection of finger plays, or your local librarian would help you find a collection. A few well-know rhymes are: “Jack and Jill”, “Hey, Diddle Diddle, the Cat and Fiddle”, “Little Miss Muffet”, and “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” Make storytelling a special time during the day or week. Tell stories about your own life. All children love to hear about when their parents were little. Tell simple well-known stories such as “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, “Ten Little Monkeys” (say-along story). See if your children can tell parts of the story themselves.
These are just of few of the many ways to use storytelling. For a more thorough discussion about the importance of orality in learning, see the in the Living Books Curriculum. To learn more about how to tell stories, try the following books or check your library. Teaching Guide , Sheila Dailey This is a book I wrote for those who would like to learn simple, easy to tell stories in less than ten minutes Putting the World in a Nutshell: the art of the formula tale,
Margaret Read MacDonald This is an easy-to-understand handbook that gets you started telling. The Storyteller's Start-Up Book: Finding, Learning, Performing, and Using Folktales: Including Twelve Tellable Tales , Ruth Sawyer This is a classic of storytelling literature and one of my favorites that I go to for inspiration. The Way of the Storyteller For websites, the two best are: (www.storynet.org)Story.Net (www.storytellingcenter.com) Story Telling Center
© Sheila Dailey Carroll, Living Books Curriculum All rights reserved. To request permission to reprint the above article email info@livingbookscurriculum.com
What Are Living Books?
"Knowing that the brain is the physical seat of habit and that conduct and character, alike, are the outcome of the habits we allow; knowing, too, that an inspiring idea initiates a new habit of thought, and hence, a new habit of life; we perceive that the great work of education is to inspire children with vitalizing ideas as to every relation of life, every department of knowledge, every subject of thought; and to give deliberate care to the formation of those habits of the good life which are the outcome of vitalizing ideas."
Charlotte Mason was referring to the use of ‘living books‘ to accomplish this very thing… this beautiful thing.
Read more at http://teachersofgoodthings.com/what-is-a-living-book/#IHWsTZ6GgzCAyjaJ.99
What Qualifies As a Living Book?
Charlotte Mason believed that in order for a book to be living, a child (or reader) must enjoy it. With one of my sons, it is about pirates, another about small engines, another about dirt bikes and farming, and our daughter, anything creative wise. Reading the description is what most people do, but for a Charlotte Mason educator you need to do the ‘one to two page test’. This test is done by opening the book to any page and reading it. If within these one or two pages, you feel pulled into the subject of the book and want to read more, it passes our ‘living book’ test.
Charlotte Mason believed that children must labor over a book because it wasn’t enough to have ideas come to their mind, but to allow the reader to assess the information, debate it, organize it in their mind and to process it enough that only the reader, not the teacher, could determine the influence it has on their life.
If you would like a WONDERFUL list of Living Books, for all ages & parents, you just have to go to this list of books that I found on Pinterest! Dottie put it all together! It's AWESOME!!!
Charlotte Mason believed that children must labor over a book because it wasn’t enough to have ideas come to their mind, but to allow the reader to assess the information, debate it, organize it in their mind and to process it enough that only the reader, not the teacher, could determine the influence it has on their life.
If you would like a WONDERFUL list of Living Books, for all ages & parents, you just have to go to this list of books that I found on Pinterest! Dottie put it all together! It's AWESOME!!!
Go to; "Learning Her Method"Read more at: http://teachersofgoodthings.com/how-to-use-living-books-in-your-homeschool/#Mx9IYyp7HgMv2iPH.99
THREE GOLDEN RULES FOR USING LIVING BOOKS
Because I know you value a learning, especially from high-quality books, I am giving you my three golden rules for using living books.
A living book is one well-written and well-told by one author with a passion for his subject. Simple. Yes? Maybe. How do you know what is well-written and well-told? What about adaptations, or collections of authors?
1. When choosing a book give it the "test". Read a small portion aloud to your children. If they say "keep reading" chances are you have a good one.
2. Don't reinvent the wheel. Use book lists offered by providers with a reputation for high standards. If you merely google "Charlotte Mason booklists" you will get a very mixed bag and risk having information from people who don't really understand CM. Instead, use the booklists on our site. Or, purchase Christine Miller's incredibly helpful book All Through the Ages. The book is a guide for teaching and learning history using narrative histories, compelling non-fiction, and literature rather than textbooks. Or, the booklists offered online by Christian Classical Education Support Loop.
3. Avoid adaptations of books (Pilgrim's Progress for Little Ones, for example). Adaptations take a great book and make it mediocre for the sake of making the book "accessible." The richness and beauty of the language is often dumbed down and the storyline simplified. Younger children can understand most texts if reading is done slowly and they are given time to absorb meaning.
All the best,
Sheila Carroll
www.LivingBooksCurriculum.com
Because I know you value a learning, especially from high-quality books, I am giving you my three golden rules for using living books.
A living book is one well-written and well-told by one author with a passion for his subject. Simple. Yes? Maybe. How do you know what is well-written and well-told? What about adaptations, or collections of authors?
1. When choosing a book give it the "test". Read a small portion aloud to your children. If they say "keep reading" chances are you have a good one.
2. Don't reinvent the wheel. Use book lists offered by providers with a reputation for high standards. If you merely google "Charlotte Mason booklists" you will get a very mixed bag and risk having information from people who don't really understand CM. Instead, use the booklists on our site. Or, purchase Christine Miller's incredibly helpful book All Through the Ages. The book is a guide for teaching and learning history using narrative histories, compelling non-fiction, and literature rather than textbooks. Or, the booklists offered online by Christian Classical Education Support Loop.
3. Avoid adaptations of books (Pilgrim's Progress for Little Ones, for example). Adaptations take a great book and make it mediocre for the sake of making the book "accessible." The richness and beauty of the language is often dumbed down and the storyline simplified. Younger children can understand most texts if reading is done slowly and they are given time to absorb meaning.
All the best,
Sheila Carroll
www.LivingBooksCurriculum.com
The Knowledge of God
"Heaven Is for Real"
This is the picture of Jesus, who the boy in the story saw and spoke to when he was in Heaven for that short time. I personally would recommend that movie as a "Need to Watch" family movie.
"Of the three sorts of knowledge proper to a child, the knowledge of God, of man, and the universe,----the knowledge of God ranks first in importance, is indispensable, and most happy-making." - Charlotte Mason
Philippians 4:4-8
4Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, please yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!
5 Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing (patient, understanding) spirit. The Lord is near [He is coming soon].
6 Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
7 And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall secure and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
8 For the rest, brother, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of great respect and is honorable and right, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and pure and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and consider, and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
4Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, please yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!
5 Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing (patient, understanding) spirit. The Lord is near [He is coming soon].
6 Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
7 And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall secure and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
8 For the rest, brother, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of great respect and is honorable and right, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and pure and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and consider, and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
Successful Narration
Successful Narration
Successful Narration by Sheila Carroll
—Charlotte Mason, “Narrating is an art, like poetry-making or painting, because it is there in every child’s mind, waiting to be discovered, and is not the process of disciplinary education.” Home Education
Are you wondering if you’re doing the “narration thing” correctly? Are you frustrated with your attempts at including narration in your homeschool? Do you wonder how to assess your child’s learning if you are using living books and not workbooks? If you are, then I welcome you to the club. Many teaching parents have at least a certain amount of difficulty getting going with narration. I know I did. I would like to share with you what I learned along the way to seeing my child successfully narrate.
Narration is a simple but powerful tool of learning. Charlotte Mason was not the first to use this method, but she was the first to use it as tool of learning. Most children enjoy telling you what they know about a subject. It delights them to tell about an incident, however small it may seem to us. Charlotte Mason believed that this love of telling could be used as a foundation for self-education.
Narration is a natural way to demonstrate and organize information. Charlotte Mason’s idea of narration as a tool for education and assessment was far broader in intent than mere “parroting back” information. It involves really knowing the thing read.
In order for narration to be an effective form of self-education, the children must be read aloud to from the very first and with the best literature available. Contained within great books is nourishment for the child’s mind in the form of ideas. As Charlotte Mason has said: as the child’s body needs nourishment to grow, so too the child’s mind needs nourishment in the form of ideas in order to grow.
Narration, then, provides an effective way for those ideas to be made specifically the child’s own. Narration, if done consistently and correctly, gives the child:
*Beauty of expression
*Recall of material
*Increased mental facility
*A means of evaluating what is understood
The Basics of Narration
When you are ready, sit with the child (this also works with more than one child) and say gently with a smile, “I am going to read (give the title) one time to you. I want you to listen carefully. Then tell me in your own words all you remember of the story.” After you have read the story, pause a moment to let it settle in, then say, “Tell me all you remember about the story.” At this point listen without comment until the child is done. The Basics of Narration
If there is more than one child you can let one start and the other add. Or, alternately, you can have the first child narrate and then ask the second (or third), “Is there anything you would like to add?” Taking turns narrating while others listen builds the habit of attention in children.
One: Start Small
Start with a small, interesting paragraph when beginning narration with your child. The best time to begin is when the child
is about six years old. If your child is younger than six and is narrating spontaneously, listen intently and with interest. Show your approval with smiles and nods, but don’t require it of the child. After age six, or when you begin formal schooling, start with simple stories of a high quality. Aesop’s Fables is the best literature to use. These contain a minimum of characters (usually only two) and a minimum of action (usually only onetwo events).
As the child matures, you should be adding increasingly complex material. The progression should be from short paragraph to brief passage, single page to gradually several pages. Most children in the upper elementary grades should be able to narrate several pages if they have been given regular practice in narration.
Two: Choose Material That Is Appropriate
In the early years, after Aesop’s Fables, I found folk tales the best subject for narration. Children are able to follow the “what happens next” and reconstruct it in their minds. Stories are stories because the images and events are linked together in some logical way. In “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, for example, there are three bowls, three chairs and three beds of graduated size. There are also three distinct parts to the story, like acts in a play. This is a logical progression that the child can understand easily. By allowing children ample opportunity to narrate back these pleasurable stories, their expressive language will grow by leaps and bounds. Suggested age ranges and appropriate material:
6-8 years—folk tales (read no more than three to five minutes) experiences (such as a visit to grandma’s or a field trip), events in nature (such as the flow of the seasons, the cycle of a butterfly from pupa to chrysalis to butterfly)
9-12 years—more complex folk tales, add biographies, well-written non-fiction, fiction (a rule of thumb is 10-15 minutes)
12 and up—continue as in nine to eleven years with increasingly complex literature. Begin work writing summaries (outlining first is an option), creating products as a response to the literature (play, mural, puppet, letter recommending the book)
Three: Listen Without CommentThis step is by far the most difficult for us as our child’s teacher. But, be silent we must. If the child suspects that you will offer “helpful questions,” then he knows he does not have to do all the work himself. Do not interrupt! Doing this is critical to your child’s budding skill. It is also part of respecting the child—expecting that he can and will do his own work. This is assuming that you have given the child material that is appropriate to his age and development.
Four: Be Consistent
Several years ago my daughter, Bridget, was becoming more and more resistant to narration. So, I did what I shouldn’t have—I made her do it. Finally, one day she wailed, “I hate narration!” I was appalled at the state of affairs. So, I did another thing I shouldn’t have—I quit requiring it of her. A whole school year went by with no narration. Really. Then, I had the summer to think things over. I realized that too often I had chosen material inappropriate for her, and I did not use narration consistently, only as it occurred to me. At the start of the next school year, I sat down with her and explained that we would begin again and we would use narration every day. Charlotte Mason has written that when forming a new habit to watch over the formation of it with care and consistency. This I did. Little by little Bridget began to regain confidence and skill. Today she narrates long passages with ease, and making books of her narrations is a special pleasure.
Five: Use Many Forms of Narration
Be creative in your use of different forms of narration. Frequent verbal narration is to be encouraged because it builds expressive language and clear thinking. However, many children enjoy other forms of narration. Here are a few below: Five: Use Many Forms of Narration
• Record narration on cassette tape, then replay it so child can hear
• Transcribe child’s narration word for word. Read it back to the child for any additions (remember, no helping)
• Create a poster with characters and setting, then have child retell
• Make a story streamer (cut a sheet of paper 5”X25”, then fold in equal sections according to number of parts of the story. Have child draw pictures from the story in sequence—older ones can add text—then retell the story from the pictures)
• Act out part or the entire story with your child
• Make a timeline, then retell
• Research geography of story and have child tell about it
• Make a diorama (a miniature movie set used for special effects or animation.)
© Sheila Dailey Carroll, Living Books Curriculum All rights reserved. To request permission to reprint the above article email info@livingbookscurriculum.com
—Charlotte Mason, “Narrating is an art, like poetry-making or painting, because it is there in every child’s mind, waiting to be discovered, and is not the process of disciplinary education.” Home Education
Are you wondering if you’re doing the “narration thing” correctly? Are you frustrated with your attempts at including narration in your homeschool? Do you wonder how to assess your child’s learning if you are using living books and not workbooks? If you are, then I welcome you to the club. Many teaching parents have at least a certain amount of difficulty getting going with narration. I know I did. I would like to share with you what I learned along the way to seeing my child successfully narrate.
Narration is a simple but powerful tool of learning. Charlotte Mason was not the first to use this method, but she was the first to use it as tool of learning. Most children enjoy telling you what they know about a subject. It delights them to tell about an incident, however small it may seem to us. Charlotte Mason believed that this love of telling could be used as a foundation for self-education.
Narration is a natural way to demonstrate and organize information. Charlotte Mason’s idea of narration as a tool for education and assessment was far broader in intent than mere “parroting back” information. It involves really knowing the thing read.
In order for narration to be an effective form of self-education, the children must be read aloud to from the very first and with the best literature available. Contained within great books is nourishment for the child’s mind in the form of ideas. As Charlotte Mason has said: as the child’s body needs nourishment to grow, so too the child’s mind needs nourishment in the form of ideas in order to grow.
Narration, then, provides an effective way for those ideas to be made specifically the child’s own. Narration, if done consistently and correctly, gives the child:
*Beauty of expression
*Recall of material
*Increased mental facility
*A means of evaluating what is understood
The Basics of Narration
When you are ready, sit with the child (this also works with more than one child) and say gently with a smile, “I am going to read (give the title) one time to you. I want you to listen carefully. Then tell me in your own words all you remember of the story.” After you have read the story, pause a moment to let it settle in, then say, “Tell me all you remember about the story.” At this point listen without comment until the child is done. The Basics of Narration
If there is more than one child you can let one start and the other add. Or, alternately, you can have the first child narrate and then ask the second (or third), “Is there anything you would like to add?” Taking turns narrating while others listen builds the habit of attention in children.
One: Start Small
Start with a small, interesting paragraph when beginning narration with your child. The best time to begin is when the child
is about six years old. If your child is younger than six and is narrating spontaneously, listen intently and with interest. Show your approval with smiles and nods, but don’t require it of the child. After age six, or when you begin formal schooling, start with simple stories of a high quality. Aesop’s Fables is the best literature to use. These contain a minimum of characters (usually only two) and a minimum of action (usually only onetwo events).
As the child matures, you should be adding increasingly complex material. The progression should be from short paragraph to brief passage, single page to gradually several pages. Most children in the upper elementary grades should be able to narrate several pages if they have been given regular practice in narration.
Two: Choose Material That Is Appropriate
In the early years, after Aesop’s Fables, I found folk tales the best subject for narration. Children are able to follow the “what happens next” and reconstruct it in their minds. Stories are stories because the images and events are linked together in some logical way. In “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, for example, there are three bowls, three chairs and three beds of graduated size. There are also three distinct parts to the story, like acts in a play. This is a logical progression that the child can understand easily. By allowing children ample opportunity to narrate back these pleasurable stories, their expressive language will grow by leaps and bounds. Suggested age ranges and appropriate material:
6-8 years—folk tales (read no more than three to five minutes) experiences (such as a visit to grandma’s or a field trip), events in nature (such as the flow of the seasons, the cycle of a butterfly from pupa to chrysalis to butterfly)
9-12 years—more complex folk tales, add biographies, well-written non-fiction, fiction (a rule of thumb is 10-15 minutes)
12 and up—continue as in nine to eleven years with increasingly complex literature. Begin work writing summaries (outlining first is an option), creating products as a response to the literature (play, mural, puppet, letter recommending the book)
Three: Listen Without CommentThis step is by far the most difficult for us as our child’s teacher. But, be silent we must. If the child suspects that you will offer “helpful questions,” then he knows he does not have to do all the work himself. Do not interrupt! Doing this is critical to your child’s budding skill. It is also part of respecting the child—expecting that he can and will do his own work. This is assuming that you have given the child material that is appropriate to his age and development.
Four: Be Consistent
Several years ago my daughter, Bridget, was becoming more and more resistant to narration. So, I did what I shouldn’t have—I made her do it. Finally, one day she wailed, “I hate narration!” I was appalled at the state of affairs. So, I did another thing I shouldn’t have—I quit requiring it of her. A whole school year went by with no narration. Really. Then, I had the summer to think things over. I realized that too often I had chosen material inappropriate for her, and I did not use narration consistently, only as it occurred to me. At the start of the next school year, I sat down with her and explained that we would begin again and we would use narration every day. Charlotte Mason has written that when forming a new habit to watch over the formation of it with care and consistency. This I did. Little by little Bridget began to regain confidence and skill. Today she narrates long passages with ease, and making books of her narrations is a special pleasure.
Five: Use Many Forms of Narration
Be creative in your use of different forms of narration. Frequent verbal narration is to be encouraged because it builds expressive language and clear thinking. However, many children enjoy other forms of narration. Here are a few below: Five: Use Many Forms of Narration
• Record narration on cassette tape, then replay it so child can hear
• Transcribe child’s narration word for word. Read it back to the child for any additions (remember, no helping)
• Create a poster with characters and setting, then have child retell
• Make a story streamer (cut a sheet of paper 5”X25”, then fold in equal sections according to number of parts of the story. Have child draw pictures from the story in sequence—older ones can add text—then retell the story from the pictures)
• Act out part or the entire story with your child
• Make a timeline, then retell
• Research geography of story and have child tell about it
• Make a diorama (a miniature movie set used for special effects or animation.)
© Sheila Dailey Carroll, Living Books Curriculum All rights reserved. To request permission to reprint the above article email info@livingbookscurriculum.com
This is a narration by our youngest daughter, who recently turned 11. She suffers from a severe case of dyslexia (as do 3 other of our 9 children), so the way she "narrates," is to use my smartphone, records what she remembers from each passage into my phone, and then copies it onto a piece of paper. She doesn't want me to always have to write or spell everything for her. She remembers what she hears, however, and usually can give a good narration back of it pretty accurately. 
Poetry, Passion, Emotions, Writing Out Our Feelings
Poetry Is Serious Business
Do you have a poem that you had to memorize as a child maybe, or that you loved and it became your favorite? I was in the 5th grade, I believe, when I had to memorize and recite one in front of the classroom, that I still remember today. As far as reciting it in front of the class, well that was another story! Anytime I had to get up in front of a group of people and do ANYTHING, I would break out in hives from head to toe! :+) I don't mean just a little red...I mean I was as red as a beet, RED!! Added to my red hair, I'm sure it was quite a beautiful sight to see (ha-ha), on top of stuttering with nervousness as I tried to recite my poem without running in fear from the classroom! LOL! At any rate, here is the poem I have remembered all these years.
"The Swing"
by Robert Lewis Stevenson
How do you like to go up in a swing,Up in the air so blue?
Oh I do think it's the pleasantest thing,
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside--
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roofs so brown--
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!!
"Poetry is not just a means to moral instruction. It is part of the humanities. Poetry is one of those human things with which Charlotte Mason wished children to establish a relationship. It is a deep expression of thought and feeling of which certain exceptional minds are particularly capable. Poetry comments on all human experiences, it is comprised of everything from war poems and epics, to psalms of worship, to love sonnets to delightful nonsense that trips off the tongue, to nursery rhymes. The subjects for poetry can be anything that people think about or sing about. We can read it as though we ourselves shared in those thoughts and those emotions."
Karen Andreola
The path in your life,
may never be straight.
Contain bumps and curves,
where many are great.
Your personal experiences,
have shaped who you are.
Embrace your mistakes,
and each unique scar.
There's always new things,
in life we may learn.
With every page,
and chapter we turn.
There's just one simple,
but very important rule.
Your passion for life,
should be used as your fuel.
by anitapoems.com
*Poetry is one of those subjects that can be done in a short time, and can be done together as a family, or individually. You can also use it for narration if you wish, for writing class (learning the different poetry styles), and also for grammar purposes, or simply for pure enjoyment! It is something that can be done every day, or simply once or twice per week.
Do you have a poem that you had to memorize as a child maybe, or that you loved and it became your favorite? I was in the 5th grade, I believe, when I had to memorize and recite one in front of the classroom, that I still remember today. As far as reciting it in front of the class, well that was another story! Anytime I had to get up in front of a group of people and do ANYTHING, I would break out in hives from head to toe! :+) I don't mean just a little red...I mean I was as red as a beet, RED!! Added to my red hair, I'm sure it was quite a beautiful sight to see (ha-ha), on top of stuttering with nervousness as I tried to recite my poem without running in fear from the classroom! LOL! At any rate, here is the poem I have remembered all these years.
"The Swing"
by Robert Lewis Stevenson
How do you like to go up in a swing,Up in the air so blue?
Oh I do think it's the pleasantest thing,
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside--
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roofs so brown--
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!!
"Poetry is not just a means to moral instruction. It is part of the humanities. Poetry is one of those human things with which Charlotte Mason wished children to establish a relationship. It is a deep expression of thought and feeling of which certain exceptional minds are particularly capable. Poetry comments on all human experiences, it is comprised of everything from war poems and epics, to psalms of worship, to love sonnets to delightful nonsense that trips off the tongue, to nursery rhymes. The subjects for poetry can be anything that people think about or sing about. We can read it as though we ourselves shared in those thoughts and those emotions."
Karen Andreola
The path in your life, may never be straight.
Contain bumps and curves,
where many are great.
Your personal experiences,
have shaped who you are.
Embrace your mistakes,
and each unique scar.
There's always new things,
in life we may learn.
With every page,
and chapter we turn.
There's just one simple,
but very important rule.
Your passion for life,
should be used as your fuel.
by anitapoems.com
*Poetry is one of those subjects that can be done in a short time, and can be done together as a family, or individually. You can also use it for narration if you wish, for writing class (learning the different poetry styles), and also for grammar purposes, or simply for pure enjoyment! It is something that can be done every day, or simply once or twice per week.
Nature Study
Nature gives us numerous opportunities to study God's beautiful nature, whether it be spring, summer, fall, and winter. Many people miss opportunities to just to "smell the roses" so-to-speak. They miss the changing of the colors of the leaves in the fall, the new flowers blooming in the spring, the buzzing of the honey bees as they travel from flower to flower pollinating, the beauty of the sun shining on the red blossoms of the apple and cherry trees... So many things of beauty that people simply walk by. What a shame that is. God did an amazing, wondrous job when He created this earth!
Not only are their trees, flowers, berries, thorns and thistles, and many other plants, but there are frogs, toads, butterflies, earthworms, black & brown squirrels, and so much more outside, IF we take the time to just go outside and look around.
Nature study is something that you can do at home, even if that means just taking a walk around your block, strolling beside a river bed, walking the acreage of the farm you live on, going to a nearby park, or even picking a specific plant or animal, and looking it up in a nature study book, or going online and researching it. We personally the book, "Handbook of Nature Study," by Anna Botsford Comstock as our reference guide. Making a nature notebook is a perfect idea for keeping track of everything we see and learn!!
This is one example of a project we did where we could watch the lifecycle of a caterpillar turn in to a butterfly, or moth, in our case.
Six Tools of Learning
Six Tools of Learning
By Sheila Carroll
Tool 1 Narration
“Narrating is an art, like poetry-making or painting, because it is there in every child’s mind, waiting to be discovered, and is not the process of disciplinary education.” Charlotte Mason, Home Education
Most children enjoy telling you what they know about a subject. It delights them to tell about an incident, however small it may seem to us. Charlotte Mason believed that this love of telling could be used as a foundation for self-education. Narration is retelling in one’s own words what has just been read (either aloud or silently). It is a natural way to demonstrate and organize what one has learned from the reading. Charlotte Mason’s idea of narration as a tool for education and assessment was far broader in intent than mere “parroting back” of information. It involves really knowing what has been read.
Tool 2 Literature
“Children have a right to the best we possess; therefore their lesson books should be, as far as possible, our best books.” Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education
We call “classic” or “great” those books that have endured and made a contribution to our understanding of what it means to be human. They have shaped our view of the world and ourselves. They are the great books of world civilization. In many cases, we have them only because wise individuals have preserved them for us. They have survived war, politics, famine and fire. The range and scope of this literature is staggering.
There is no subject of human nature that these books have not touched. Literature encompasses six thousand years of human history. They range from the profoundly simple fables of Aesop to the complex novels of Leo Tolstoy.
Tool 3 Storytelling
One day naked truth went walking. Everywhere she went people scorned her for her nakedness and would not hear her words. Finally, imagination saw her difficulty and offered to accompany naked truth whenever she journeyed. When people saw how beautiful imagination was, they desired her and welcomed her words. Naked truth, of course, was welcomed everywhere imagination went. Adapted by Sheila Carroll from a folktale.
Storytelling can communicate living ideas just as written words can. Think of the Bible stories and the truths they communicate. Remember the story of Moses or Joseph? Both of these men’s lives make an engaging story and yet contain the eternal truths of the eternal God.
Tool 4 Nature Study
“Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.” Job, 37:14
“If we give children regular opportunities to get in touch with God’s creation, a habit is formed that will be a source of delight throughout their lives. Many people know little of the natural world because they never take time to observe it. Once our senses are on the alert, though, nature yields treasure after treasure.” Karen Andreola, A Charlotte Mason Companion
The wonders of nature wait at your doorstep. Even if you live in a busy, crowded city, there are birds, insects, and plants to be found. Finding them is half the fun. Natural wonders are everywhere. When you make exploring and appreciating the natural world a priority, it will transform your homeschool.
Tool 5 Short Lessons
“Children no more come into the world without provision for dealing with knowledge than without provision for dealing with food. They bring with them not only that intellectual appetite, the desire for knowledge, but also an enormous, an unlimited potential for attention to which the power of memory seems attached.” Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education
Children are persons born with a desire to learn and to acquire knowledge in a wide variety of subjects. They are also born with an enormous capacity for attention and remembering. These two statements may seem to run counter to experience in the classroom. We have all seen children as inattentive as magpies. We have also seen their distaste for certain subjects expressed in inattention. How does the teaching parent harness that desire for knowledge together with the capacity for attention?
The answer lies in the length of the lessons themselves. Charlotte Mason recommended lessons be no more than ten minutes in length for a child under the age of eight (Home Education, p. 142). When the lessons are short and varied, your child’s interest is always fresh and ready for what comes next.
Tool 6 Local Resources
A Living Books education makes use of all that is within reach the library, your home, friends and family, your community. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century in America, it was accepted that learning was in relationship to the people, places and events at hand.
By Sheila Carroll
Tool 1 Narration
“Narrating is an art, like poetry-making or painting, because it is there in every child’s mind, waiting to be discovered, and is not the process of disciplinary education.” Charlotte Mason, Home Education
Most children enjoy telling you what they know about a subject. It delights them to tell about an incident, however small it may seem to us. Charlotte Mason believed that this love of telling could be used as a foundation for self-education. Narration is retelling in one’s own words what has just been read (either aloud or silently). It is a natural way to demonstrate and organize what one has learned from the reading. Charlotte Mason’s idea of narration as a tool for education and assessment was far broader in intent than mere “parroting back” of information. It involves really knowing what has been read.
Tool 2 Literature
“Children have a right to the best we possess; therefore their lesson books should be, as far as possible, our best books.” Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education
We call “classic” or “great” those books that have endured and made a contribution to our understanding of what it means to be human. They have shaped our view of the world and ourselves. They are the great books of world civilization. In many cases, we have them only because wise individuals have preserved them for us. They have survived war, politics, famine and fire. The range and scope of this literature is staggering.
There is no subject of human nature that these books have not touched. Literature encompasses six thousand years of human history. They range from the profoundly simple fables of Aesop to the complex novels of Leo Tolstoy.
Tool 3 Storytelling
One day naked truth went walking. Everywhere she went people scorned her for her nakedness and would not hear her words. Finally, imagination saw her difficulty and offered to accompany naked truth whenever she journeyed. When people saw how beautiful imagination was, they desired her and welcomed her words. Naked truth, of course, was welcomed everywhere imagination went. Adapted by Sheila Carroll from a folktale.
Storytelling can communicate living ideas just as written words can. Think of the Bible stories and the truths they communicate. Remember the story of Moses or Joseph? Both of these men’s lives make an engaging story and yet contain the eternal truths of the eternal God.
Tool 4 Nature Study
“Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.” Job, 37:14
“If we give children regular opportunities to get in touch with God’s creation, a habit is formed that will be a source of delight throughout their lives. Many people know little of the natural world because they never take time to observe it. Once our senses are on the alert, though, nature yields treasure after treasure.” Karen Andreola, A Charlotte Mason Companion
The wonders of nature wait at your doorstep. Even if you live in a busy, crowded city, there are birds, insects, and plants to be found. Finding them is half the fun. Natural wonders are everywhere. When you make exploring and appreciating the natural world a priority, it will transform your homeschool.
Tool 5 Short Lessons
“Children no more come into the world without provision for dealing with knowledge than without provision for dealing with food. They bring with them not only that intellectual appetite, the desire for knowledge, but also an enormous, an unlimited potential for attention to which the power of memory seems attached.” Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education
Children are persons born with a desire to learn and to acquire knowledge in a wide variety of subjects. They are also born with an enormous capacity for attention and remembering. These two statements may seem to run counter to experience in the classroom. We have all seen children as inattentive as magpies. We have also seen their distaste for certain subjects expressed in inattention. How does the teaching parent harness that desire for knowledge together with the capacity for attention?
The answer lies in the length of the lessons themselves. Charlotte Mason recommended lessons be no more than ten minutes in length for a child under the age of eight (Home Education, p. 142). When the lessons are short and varied, your child’s interest is always fresh and ready for what comes next.
Tool 6 Local Resources
A Living Books education makes use of all that is within reach the library, your home, friends and family, your community. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century in America, it was accepted that learning was in relationship to the people, places and events at hand.
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In the meantime, I was blessed to not only homeschool our 5 kids still at home (well one being our granddaughter), for our 23rd year, and using Charlotte Mason philosophies to do so, I also was blessed to be able to have taken the online college course, "True North, an in-depth study of Charlotte Mason's theories, philosophies and ways of seeing children as the true people they are." It is based on Charlotte Mason and her way of teaching. It has been a year long course, and I am blessed to say that I have made new friends within our class group and with our instructor, Sheila Carroll. This has been a VERY important course to me this year!! And not only have they been patient with the cancer, fibromyalgia and all, but have been there for me through prayers and encouragement every step of the way. Thank you guys!!!
Here's to an AWESOME, GOD BLESSED, GOD FAVORED year...2015,