Nature Study 2nd week/ Charlotte Mason lessons

I'm having a lot of fun with this nature study we've started doing. My previous post about the "jewels in our backyard" reminded me that we have even more to explore in our backyard (our very own backyard). We have a large "free space" of land behind our fence that has woods and deer in it. We built a gate into our fence some time ago so that we could access this space however, we rarely do. Yesterday we opened up the gate and the children had so much fun exploring and discovering our very own backyard.

Charlotte Mason says in Part II of her Home Education book that "every hour spent in the open is a clear gain, tending to the increase of brain power and bodily rigour, and to the lengthening of life itself. (pg. 42)" She goes on to say that we should "never be within doors when you can rightly be without". (pg. 42) I love this quote! I need to use that one on my children.

Miss Mason has some excellent examples of simple nature studies that she shares with her readers. Her philosophy of nature study stems from this quote of hers: "They must be let alone, left to themselves a great deal, to take in what they can of the beauty of earth and heavens; for of the evils of modern education few are worse than this- that the perpetual cackle of his elders leaves the poor child not a moment of time, nor an inch of space, wherein to wonder- and grow. At the same time, here is the mother's opportunity to train the seeing eye, the hearing ear, and to drop seeds of truth into the open soul of the child, which shall germinate, blossom, and bear fruit, without further help or knowledge of hers." (pg. 44)

This is powerful and we all need to take note! Miss Mason is basically taking most of the responsibility for leading the lesson away from us. We don't have to know everything to guide our children in their studies. We just have to present them with time and opportunity to be children. Their exploring and curious minds will take it from there. So often we are scared that we can't teach a particular subject or we're upset that we don't know all of the answers. Our precious children don't expect us too. But we must allow them to explore and discover, and be willing to learn along with them.

The next page talks about the parents who feel that they have to constantly have something planned for their children to do. She says "no". Don't always have stories to read to them, tell jokes, recite tales, etc. Just simply enjoy and don't always try to entertain them. This is a very important lesson for the OCD moms and the "overplanners". I tend to fall into one of those categories myself. I feel guilty that I don't have planned activities to fill their days with. Miss Mason says that that's just allowing the children time to be children. It's wonderful the ideas and creations our children come up with when their imaginations are allowed to take flight!

I'll end with this final though from Miss Mason for today. "In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mother's first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it spent for the most part out in the fresh air. And this, not for the gain in bodily health alone- body and soul, heart and mind, are nourished with food convenient for them when the children are let alone, let to live without friction and without stimulus amongst happy influences which incline them to be good." (pg 43)

Isn't it amazing that this woman lived over 100 years ago and it seems as if she's telling us exactly what is needed for mothers today. Remember to let your school be pleasurable, calm, and have much room for exploring the world around us. "All the time, too, the children are storing up memories of a happy childhood". (pg 43) Isn't that what it's all about?

Jill