Thursday, February 19, 2015
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.
So What Exactly Does a Charlotte Mason Day Look Like?
So how exactly does a Charlotte Mason (CM) school day look like? Well first off, let me give you a set of basic times that each age group needs to spend per subject. This is a true test of time that Charlotte Mason believed allotted for the most out of each learning experience. This may surprise you, but it works! It prevents dawdling, boredom, restless behavior & lack of interest and attention.
Age 7 & under = 10 minutes or less (Yes! Seriously!!)
Ages 8 & 9 = 20 minutes or less
Ages 10 & up = 30 – 40 minutes is more than sufficient
Using short lessons is more than just an insignificant technique; Charlotte Mason considers this a “root principle.” When it comes to times, our family sets those old kitchen wind up timers, and once the timer goes off, that child knows that they have put that subject away, and begin the next one, unless they are at the very end of something that takes no more than a few short minutes. Each child has their own timer, even if that means setting their own non-activated cell phone alarms so they have no excuses, and it really helps to keep them on their toes, and to know that they have to concentrate and get each subject done, or they will have to start all over again. That’s all it usually takes to motivate them.
Okay, so that said, let me show you what an average homeschool day looks like. This is what a basic day at our house looks like. Remember, each family’s school will be completely as different as each person’s fingerprints are. This is neither right, nor wrong. It is just a fact, and that’s perfectly okay. Our school is far from perfect, but we are still learning and continually working on our own schedule to fine tune it.
On a “perfect” school day, our kids get up by 7:30, get dressed, and then do their morning chores, eat breakfast, and are ready and at the table to begin school by 8:00 – 8:15. I usually get up at 8:00, because many nights I don’t sleep well due to the fibromyalgia and the restless leg syndrome that I have. Once I hit the floor, I am up and immediately ready to begin the part of the schooling that requires my help. The kids need to be doing whatever they can school wise by themselves until that point, whether I get up at 8:00, or 9:00, that specific day. That is part of dealing with homeschooling when someone in your family has a chronic illness, disability, or other obstacle.
We try to do as many subjects as a family as often as we can. This can include reading a book together, studying a specific country, war, or past event from history, like the Holocaust, to watching a movie or TV show that is educational, like the History Channel. Right now, we happen to be watching the series, “The Bible.” The kids are fascinated and enthralled by each story, and usually ask to watch the next one right away. We also read from the Bible, or a devotional together, and one of us says a prayer for our school that day, over their dad’s day at work, or for other things and people that need prayed for.
So, for instance in our school, one of our three teenage sons (age 15), has found fixing small motors and appliances, to be a natural God given gift of his. So one thing that works well, is to have him use a book on that particular subject, for not only Reading, but also it encompasses Copywork & Narration (which I will delve in to more detail on, later on in this site), and English Grammar, all from a book that interests him. He also gets hands-on experience, and plenty with the large family that we have! J We have another younger teenage son (age 13) who is fascinated in pirates right now, and Bearded Dragons. After researching both, we now own two (yes 2), live Bearded Dragons named Lelo and Stitch, and we are reading the book, “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson, together as a family, about Black Beard and his pirate adventures to find a hidden treasure. Each day all of our children narrate down what that specific chapter was about, and each detail they remember of the story. They usually want me to keep reading, but when our time is up, we stop, and that way they are enticed to see what happens in the story the next day. (Note here, that several of our 9 children have dyslexia, and so then may either narrate back to me orally, or orally as I type what they tell me on the computer, or write it out themselves.)
As far as the actual care of the dragons, it is 100% our son’s responsibility to feed, water them, clean their cage, make certain they get a “bath” in about an inch of water in the bathtub once weekly, and to give them the exercise they need. One of my least favorite bugs has always been crickets, ever since, as a child, a family of crickets nested in my pom-poms when I was on the pep squad in school years ago. Now, I have to admit, unpleasantly, I actually go out and buy them for our dragons. NOT something I ever thought I would ever find myself doing in this life, or in Heaven above!!! But, for the education and enjoyment of my children, I have swallowed that fear, and force myself to do so. Thank God that they also eat kale, leaf lettuce, live meal worms (which gross me out equally as bad to touch), and several other things.
Lesson Schedule – A Quick PeekI’m going to post about my typical schedule later in the series, but here’s a quick look at a morning of lessons for my 5th grader. The lessons vary as the week goes on, but this is pretty normal.
Here is a sample of a school day of a typical 5th grader and what it might look like.
So, before lunch, he’s tackled all the 3 R’s + some. The afternoons, as you’ll see in a coming post, aren’t wasted educationally – they just take on a different “look”.
"Teach them to your children, and talk about them (the Scriptures), when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."
Deuteronomy 6:7
Charlotte Mason, A Liberal Educator
Does
anyone know what the definition of “liberal” is? Liberal is defined as “something that is not
restricted.” An example of liberal is;
an education covering a wide range of subjects.
“Liberal Education” is like justice, religion, liberty, and fresh air…the
natural birthright of every child, and all of us, right?! :+)
So doesn’t that sound like something that
you’d love to offer your kids, but were never certain how to go about it, or
even how to put it into words? Let me
introduce you to a special young woman named Charlotte Mason. Charlotte Mason had a vision of how children
really learn, that did not incorporate books and workbooks. She saw children in a whole new light, though
she never married or had any of her own.
As a matter of fact, she was born in England in 1842 (and lived until
the age of 81 in 1923), and was essentially taught by her own parents. However, she was orphaned at the age of
16. It was then that she realized that
more than anything, she wanted her life to be surrounded by teaching other
children. So, she set out determined to
make that her goal.
Charlotte had a different theory than most of
her counter components…she believed that children are people too, just in a
smaller version size. They did not, nor
do not, need to be taught as though they are dumbed down versions of
adults. In fact, personally, I believe
that there are many children that happen to be a lot smarter than some adults I
know. I am not trying to be rude here,
it is simply a fact.
So, Charlotte set out to begin teaching the
God given way that she envisioned in her mind.
She used the special gifts God had given her and blossomed daily with
idea after idea, as God gave them to her.
Out of this came to 7, (or as I see them as 8), basic theories that
she thoroughly believed in. I will share
them here with you. I just know you’re
curiosity is getting the better of you!
:+)
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Who was the Person, Charlotte Mason
Who Was the Person, Charlotte Mason?
Oh how I would have loved to meet Charlotte Mason in person, and been able to possibly apprentice under her, and just absorb the knowledge of her brain!!! Oh the things that I could have learned! I could have just soak it up like a sponge. Her ideas were not always what was common for that time period, nor agreed with. However, it did prove to be one of the greatest methods and theories most common in proving that her theories were superior to almost all others .
Charlotte's life wasn't always easy though. "During most of Charlotte Mason's life, a chief mode of transportation was by horse. Charlotte loved nature. Her daily routine shows what a high priority this was. Charlotte spent nearly two hours outside every afternoon, regardless of the weather or how busy she was. In her younger days, nature walks dominated. But Charlotte's health was never good; this good-hearted woman was a victim of a bad heart. So eventually, she had to replace her beloved walks with carriage rides. Charlotte Mason was also a remarkable women who was ahead of her time." Oh how I would have loved to meet Charlotte Mason in person, and been able to possibly apprentice under her, and just absorb the knowledge of her brain!!! Oh the things that I could have learned! I could have just soak it up like a sponge. Her ideas were not always what was common for that time period, nor agreed with. However, it did prove to be one of the greatest methods and theories most common in proving that her theories were superior to almost all others .(Penny Gardner) "What Charlotte Mason added was a practical, down-to-earth perspective that showed how one actually set out to do it. Her style and exposition were homey, both in the sense that she wrote in an easy, intelligible way, and in the sense that she stressed the influence and responsibility of the home." (Karen Andreola)
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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,