charlotte mason Archives - Page 3 of 4

Losing the Labels

May 22, 2015Tracy2 Comments

Sometimes, labels can be very helpful, allowing us to define our vision or explain that vision in a way others can quickly identify with. At other times, we allow those labels to shackle us to a lifestyle or an approach that maybe isn’t quite the right fit.

Crunchy, organic, homesteader. Attachment-parenting, grace-based parenting, traditional. Classical education, Charlotte Mason, unschooling.

I think to escape the label in homeschooling, a lot of us settle on “eclectic” and call it a day. It’s easier than trying to explain the exceptions we’ve made to this philosophy and that approach. But I will take the time to explain some of our exceptions, just to help you see our journey and maybe bring some clarity to yours.

We started out hard core classical educators. Lots of memory, early Latin, art and music appreciation. And while I still love the learning levels and cycle of history, some of the rigidity and rigor has slipped away, for our sanity and survival.

I loved everything I read about Charlotte Mason, and was fully prepared to embrace the majority of that educational approach at the beginning of the year. Short lessons saved us this year, transformed our homeschool. My little ADHD kiddos thrived with short intense bursts and learned more than you could imagine from lessons that were no longer than 15 or 20 min.; it fit them perfectly. They could succeed and still be Tiggers. I also loved the connection with people rather than simply memorizing events. We merely discovered the events as we got to know people. My son saw himself in the life of Charles Dickens, saw who he wanted to be in Abraham Lincoln, and saw what he wanted to achieve in the lives of inventors like Thomas Edison and the Wright brothers.

On the other hand, even though the idea of teaching language the Charlotte Mason way really appealed to me, it was a colossal failure in practice. My son simply hated learning spelling through dictation; and while I enjoyed teaching the language lessons, I did not enjoy the fact that the method was so teacher-dependent. We gave it a try for quite a while and then I realized it was pointless to continue something that wasn’t working for my son simply because I was idealistic.

I learned this year, with all of our personal challenges, to be flexible, perhaps a little more realistic and a little less idealistic. I learned that no approach to education is the right approach for every child (after all, isn’t that why many of us homeschool to begin with?). And I learned that what I’m doing has to be a fit for BOTH me AND my child.

I’ve learned that labels are for canned food and toothpaste, not people.

Homeschooling Simplicity: Simplifying Tapestry

May 6, 2014Tracy2 Comments

I’m trying to achieve simplicity for the rest of this year and the upcoming year, to give my kids a quality education while allowing us to live life, the life God’s given us. I’ve been tackling several different areas of our homeschool where I felt the pressure getting a little out of hand, one of those has been our integrated history studies through Tapestry of Grace. Because Tapestry includes plans for all twelve grades and ideas for all the learning styles, it can easily become too much if you try to do it all. It’s meant to be a buffet, where you pick and choose the ideas and projects that fit your family best. Even so, I desperately needed to make a change: simplifying Tapestry has breathed new life into our homeschool day.

Simplifying Tapestry

I love that Tapestry will fit into the Charlotte Mason method well while still maintaining the tenants of classical education that I value. But I am changing the way we do a few things. I’m simplifying Tapestry of Grace, or at least how we use it, to fit our family and our needs right now. One of those chief needs is for short lessons.

Organizing by topic. I’ve begun to prep the unit by topic rather than by week. That means, I request the books from the library for the whole unit, arrange the order we’ll read those books, print off the TOG pages we’ll need to go along with those books and topics, and then close the curriculum and don’t look at it again until the next unit.

This allows us the freedom to maintain short lessons (the Charlotte Mason way) and enjoy the journey. I no longer worry that “I HAVE to finish a book in a single week because we have three more books to start next week.” Instead, when we finish one set of books, we move to the next in my sequence. Sometimes it takes more time, and sometimes it takes less.

Choosing an emphasis. I’ve also started choosing our emphasis rather than emphasizing every event in history, as I’ve done in the past. We don’t HAVE to cover the Pilgrims, Catherine the Great, the wars in Europe, and the British conqest of India all in one week. I choose our emphasis and allow myself the freedom to pick another emphasis on the next rotation of history. {allow me to take a huge sigh of relief here}

Simplifying mapwork. Last but not least, I’m simplifying mapwork. Rather than a new map each week, I’m choosing one or two maps per unit, depending on what we are studying. Again, I’m allowing us the time to make a relationship and form connections with the places we are studying. Not to mention that it makes my life a whole lot easier.

Let me give you an example here. We’ve spent 3-4 weeks on the map of the 13 original colonies. The first week, I gave Oldest the teacher map and sheets of tracing paper. Each day, he traced the map on the paper. Week 2, he drew his own map while looking at the original. Week 3 and 4, he drew it without looking. The result? That boy knows his colonies! He has a relationship with them; he’s memorized them just from this activity; he perks up in each of our stories when a particular colony is mentioned; he’s never taken more than 5-10 minutes a day on mapwork. Because we stretched this out, he’s had a greater depth of understand and stayed within our “short lesson” rule.

The beauty of Tapestry of Grace, one of the reasons I loved it to begin with, is that it allows for customizing to fit your family. I’m so thankful I’m finally allowing myself to maximize that benefit by simplifying Tapestry and how we use it. It’s been a breath of fresh grace in our homeschool.

Want an update on our Tapestry journey? Read about the benefits of using a literature-rich curriculum with ADHD/Dyslexia.

Narration: the art of story-telling

April 24, 2014Tracy

Children love to tell stories. My day is filled with little voices narrating what happened in the bedroom upstairs, what happened in the backyard, and what happened just 2 minutes ago at the table right in front of me.

Even Littlest has started this. The other day, he threw a piece of trash into a receptacle with a revolving lid. At the angle he was standing at, he got smacked in the head with the lid as he pushed down on it. I saw it happen, yet he turns to me and tells me exactly what I saw. “Da’ tash bonked ma head,” he said. He’s learning language by using it, by putting the events of his day into words.

That’s what narration is. It’s teaching knowledge and language through retelling, challenging the child to put his thoughts into spoken words. But because it’s spoken, he’s learning this skill without having the added worry of how to spell and punctuate those thoughts, at least not yet.

I mentioned before that Oldest has been a little hesitant to make the switch to narration. I know it’s a different thought-process than what he’s used to (regurgitating the right answers to my questions), so I’ve been patient with his transition. I’ve also seen, when he has been less self-conscious, what an enthusiastic narrator he is. Example:

“There was a fire [insert sound effect]. And the flames went up like [another sound effect]. The animals all ran away [he hops across my floor like a rabbit, screaming, ‘AHH!’].”

So here are some practical things I’m trying to make the transition smoother and to make narration more varied and appealing.

Draw pictures. This was our very first alternative when telling the story was simply too overwhelming at first. After I finished our reading, they chose a scene they remembered and illustrated it.
Act it out. Middlest sparked the whole idea when she suggested we make our own paddle boats to go along with the Paddle to the Sea audio-story we were listening to. The kids made their canoes, and then each day, they acted out the part of the story we’d just listened to. It was a huge turning point for Oldest, and their narrations were very detailed and enthusiastic. (See the example above!)

You Pick. One of the free resources at SimplyCharlotteMason.com is a narration bookmark, which includes a myriad of ideas for how to ask for narrations from your child. I printed off these bookmarks and gave one to Oldest to use in his independent reading. Then, I allowed him to read his bookmark and choose how he wanted to narrate his reading to me after he’d finished it on his own. Not only was it great accountability, allowing me to double-check that he’d read and comprehended, but he was much more willing when he had a choice in the matter.

How do I ask for a narration? Well, I’m still learning, and that bookmark has helped me quite a bit, too. But when I ask for a retelling, I try to do one of two things. First, chapter titles can be very helpful. If the chapter title is “Night in the Settlement,” then I ask “Describe what the first night at the settlement was like.” Another idea I’ve used is to reread the first couple of sentences (after I read the selection) and then pause and wait for them to continue the story.

One more idea I found simply hilarious and can’t wait to try was from one of Catherine Levison’s books. She said that when her children hesitated and resisted narrating, she’d say, “I guess our story was about a pink rabbit that met an elephant.” And her kids would rush to correct her.

One last thought here. I have not required Middlest to narrate. Sometimes after Oldest is finished I will ask her if she has something to add, but that’s usually because I can see her squirming with excitement about to burst with what she has to add.

This has been a very fun journey for all of us, including Oldest. And in just 3 weeks, I have seen both of their narrations and the details they include improve tremendously.

Implementing Charlotte Mason, baby steps

April 9, 2014Tracy

We’re applying Charlotte Mason in our homeschool these days, implementing some of the methods in baby steps. And since I’ve waxed super philosophical lately, I thought I’d take a break for some practical thoughts today.

The nice thing about CM is that it is a method not a curriculum, so I’m really not making huge curriculum changes mid-year. I’m using all the same materials; I’m just using them differently.

Short Lessons

I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, but this has been #1 on my list of changes. In order to require strict attention to lessons, short lessons are recommended, before your child’s attention is lost. What does this look like?

We still do A Beka Math. We still do Logic of English (Foundations B for Middlest, Essentials for Oldest). We still do Tapestry of Grace. However, I’m making intentional decisions to keep each individual lesson no longer than 15-20 minutes. For some of our Tapestry reading, that means that we may come back in an hour to read some more, but my kids get the brain breaks they need. For some Essentials lessons, that means it may take us more than a week to get through a single lesson. That’s okay. He’ll actually learn more by doing less.

Copy Work

We’ve started doing copy work lessons 3-4 times a week. Copy work reinforces good handwriting, spelling, and mechanics as the kids copy passages from quality books. What does this look like?

Well, for Middlest I cheat and actually have her writing the sentence that is a part of her Foundations lesson. It’s a start, and she is only kindergarten after all. For Oldest, I downloaded the free copy work lessons from the AmblesideOnline yahoo group. Even though he’s technically 2nd grade, we are just starting copy work, so I have him copying from Book 1. The passages he’s copying are from a favorite book of his that we read earlier in the year; he loves it. And on the days we are not doing copy work, I let him illustrate his copy work page. It’s a win for both of us.

This takes us 5-10 minutes. That’s all! I know some kids may take longer to write, but I was blown away by how little time it really took us to implement some of these things.

Living Books

I’m much pickier about our books, even our “Tapestry” book selections. I’ve seen the difference between fact-filled books (even the ones with all the cool pictures—think Usborne and DK Eyewitness) and really, truly living books—books that have a storyline and an enthusiastic author, books that make the facts come alive with people and narrative and ideas. What does this look like?

I double-check my book selections through the SimplyCharlotteMason.com bookfinder. If it’s not on that site, I find an Amazon preview and read a few pages. I’m getting better at detecting the good stuff. And IF I get a book from the library that is not living, it’s only for the pictures. The kids can look through those pictures while I read the living books. The difference is that my son tries to steal these books to read on his own; he devours them. The other kinds of books sit on my shelves, unless someone’s in the mood for pictures.

Narration

I’ll probably delve into this a little further in future posts; it’s a huge part of both classical and CM, though the technique is a little different in each method. For the Susan Wise-Bauer method, you ask specific questions to elicit a specific answer. You’ve chosen the key ideas you want your child to retain. With the CM method, the child retells the story back to you. He does the mental work of remembering, of selecting the points that resonated with him, of putting that information in order. It is the process of composition, but it occurs in the child’s head. What has this looked like?

I’ll be frank—Oldest has resisted this a little. The open-endedness scares him because he’s used to giving me what I want. That, and he’s not much for change. But I’m sold on this aspect of the CM methods; I totally see the value, especially as preparation for composition later on. So I’ve mentioned the value of what he’s doing to him, and then reassured him. The reassurance is gradually drawing him out. And I’ve been creative with how we do it. Sometimes, he retells. Other times, I’ve let them draw pictures or act out the stories. And though I have not required anything from Middlest (because she’s only 5), she has whole-heartedly jumped on board with it.

That’s it. That’s all we’ve changed right now to make CM a part of our homeschool. It’s nothing scary, nothing drastic or expensive or traumatic. But it has been revolutionary. I can sense it changing not just how we do things, but who we are. And I love it! I feel like a caged bird set free.

Planting Habits, Reaping Character

April 2, 2014Tracy

One aspect of my Charlotte Mason research that I have loved is the great advice on habits or character-training. Her advice is phenomenal.

It begins with prayerfully considering what character trait to work on with your child—just one at a time.

The next step is a conversation with your child to discuss the harm of his/her current behavior and the character trait that will be the solution. This is not a lecture, but rather a healthy conversation to engage the will of your child in this effort and to position yourself as your child’s friendly ally in this endeavor.

During this conversation with your child, discuss some strategies that you will use to help remind him/her until the habit is established: a question you will ask to help the child think about his/her behavior and a nonverbal cue to strengthen the child’s will and remind him you are their to help. The idea is that you do not want to nag or command. You want the child’s brain to be doing the thinking, charting a new neural path for this habit.

The last step is patient vigilance; new habits aren’t made overnight. Be vigilant as you hold your child accountable for the new behavior. But then, provide reinforcement as well—a Scripture verse to encourage, a biography of a person learning or exhibiting this trait to inspire your child.

So how do habits coexist with the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit? Is this my work or His? My son and I recently had this discussion, and I illustrated it this way: I can plant a seed in good soil, water it, provide just the right sunshine and nutrients, but only God can make that seed grow into a plant and bear fruit.

Habits are prepping the soil and watering the seed. I can teach good habits and encourage right behavior, but I cannot change my child’s heart or inject character into his life. That’s the Holy Spirit’s work. Habits may plant the seed, but only God gives the increase.

I cannot recommend these free resources enough! They have been absolutely invaluable to me lately. For more on habit training and parenting, download Smooth and Easy Days, Masterly Inactivity, and The Way of the Will.

Filling my cup

March 31, 2014Tracy2 Comments

There is a very sobering and humbling reality to answered prayer, a moment of awe when you see your answer and realize that Someone was listening to you. Of course, I know He listens to me, but seeing the reality of that before me is an emotionally moving experience. It causes me to “be still” and realize He is God.

I’m not even talking about the huge miraculous answers to crisis, but more the quiet prayers for strength that you pray about mid-day, the prayers that only God knows about. I’m talking about the “answers” that speak to your spirit as only God would know to speak.

Lately, I have had some answers to prayer that were so perfectly and exactly what my soul needed, that I don’t think even I could have articulated that need as well as God answered. Do you know what I’m talking about?

For our homeschool and parenting, that answer has been the ideas of Charlotte Mason, and a call to simplify what we do.

Another answer, for homemaking and my own spiritual journey, came through this series: 52 ways to more serenity in your life and home.

In the “behind the scenes” of my life, God is filling my cup, even as it is daily emptied and slopped and spilled through the day’s activities. Just when I think I’ve emptied the last drop, I find He’s filled me to overflowing once more.

The sun comes up. It’s a new day dawning. Time to sing Your song again! Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes.

~10,000 reasons

Classically Charlotte Mason

March 21, 2014Tracy1 Comment

I believe in the trivium, the chronological study of history, and classical education in general. But lately, I’ve felt the pressure of keeping up and have been on the search for some inspiration. I found it, surprisingly in Charlotte Mason’s ideas, and I wanted to share some of the ideas that have been inspiring me (including a list of free ebooks available through the SimplyCharlotteMason website.) I love both classical and Charlotte Mason ideas so much, that I’m blending the two as we move forward in our homeschool. From now on, we are classically Charlotte Mason in our approach.

Short Lessons

This single concept has made a world of difference in our day. Charlotte Mason proposes short, concentrated lessons, about 15-20 minutes max. for my oldest. That seems impossible at first, but it is amazing how much you can accomplish in that amount of time and the QUALITY of what is accomplished in those moments. Charlotte Mason’s thought was to teach concentration. By prolonging a lesson, we are inadvertently teaching our kids to daydream and drift during a lesson. But when you end a lesson before the daydreaming starts, everyone stays focused for those few precious moments of learning; and my child is taught to put all of his mind into that subject.

Another benefit is that my child’s brain gets the breaks it needs in each particular discipline. For instance, with short lessons, I’m not exhausting one particular area of his brain. We don’t read for an hour. We don’t stare at math problems for 40 minutes. Instead, we quickly move through 20 min. of math, a 20 min. read-aloud, 20 min. of copy work and memory chants, another 20 min. for independent work, etc. What happens if something doesn’t get finished? Come back to it later, in another 20 minute segment after the brain has had a break. Or, come back to it on another day! But before you say it will never work, try it. Try it just for one day. You will be stunned at the difference.

Atmosphere, Discipline, Life

Charlotte Mason defines education as an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. The questions and thoughts inspired by the free ebook Education Is have been most helpful in centering my thoughts on what is important to our family. Another freeing thought is that our homeschool routine is not my only avenue for teaching discipline when it comes to time management and scheduling. A little freedom here will not ruin my children’s characters because their training in these areas is (or ought to be) supplemented in other areas. So if I give us a little freedom in the morning to learn casually, that doesn’t mean they will never be able to make it to work on time as adults.

Habit-training

I wasn’t expecting parenting advice when I researched a homeschool method. On one hand, it makes sense since one is merely an extension of the other. But the resources on habits and character-training have been very inspiring and helpful. Charlotte suggests choosing one character trait to make a habit and concentrating my effort in that area. Instead of nagging, decide on a non-verbal reminder with your child so that the decision and mental process becomes part of the habit, forming a new route of thought for your child’s brain. Acknowledge the difference between the want and the will. (This was huge for me since I have a child that REALLY struggles with this.) A “strong-willed” child is really a “weak-willed” child since the child does not have the will-power or strength of character to deny his want in order to make a right choice. Suggestions are also given for strengthening the will of a child intentionally through positive instruction.

One word of caution here to be a discerning reader. Charlotte Mason, from what I understand from some of her writings, believed that children are neither good nor bad but are a blank slate influenced by environment. I, on the other hand, believe the Bible teaches that there is no one good, not even one, and that our only path to “goodness” or “righteousness” is through Christ and the regenerating of the Holy Spirit. Does that mean we don’t need good habits? Hardly. I see habits as preparing the soil for the seeds of the Holy Spirit’s fruit. Character is the fruit, and I can’t MAKE character grow, but good habits can water and nurture those seeds of God’s grace.

Hopeful, Expectant, Serene and other parenting tips

These three words literally have the ability to change the mood and direction of an entire day. When I’m about to correct my children, these words have continually come to mind. Am I going to be negative and critical with what I’m about to say, or do I have a hopeful, expectant attitude? Am I anticipating obedience or disobedience? Are the kids picking up on my own anxiety and tension, or am I communicating a peaceful, serene attitude? Am I at peace? Oh, my goodness! There is a wealth of wisdom here that has been very equipping and empowering.

Simplicity and Nurturing a Love for Ideas

“When more is actually less” is a Charlotte Mason principle I’m trying to consciously implement. It will be very freeing when I grasp this. For instance, I don’t have to teach every artist of the Renaissance to be effective. The CM method suggest three artists and three composers a year, giving your child a chance to form a relationship and connection with the people and their work. I’ve seen the difference this makes, to really take our time and explore someone rather than plow through all of the bios. It really comes down to facts versus connections with people and ideas. Both have their place. I’ve just got to wrap my mind around where that place will be. I know I haven’t done justice to a lot of the ideas, but really my intent was to spark curiosity, to maybe send someone else on their own journey of discovery and inspiration and freedom. There is a lot to be gained here, even if CM is not entirely the direction for you.

Classically Charlotte Mason

So what does this mean going forward for us? How do these principles of Charlotte Mason blend with ideas of a classical education? Beautifully, and nearly seamlessly, these two philosophies compliment each other so well. We still will keep the 4-year cycle of history and the learning divisions that are key to a classical education: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. We’ll still emphasize memorization, worldview, and Socratic discussion. But I’ll have an opportunity to add beauty and variety to our day, flexibility and freedom. I’m so looking forward to this merger. Classically Charlotte Mason, for us, is really the best of both worlds; I’m getting to have my cake and eat it, too!