A New Semester, A New Beginning

The kids are thumbing through some picture books right now about ancient Egypt. These are books that I've been collecting over the years in preperation for our year with the Ancients. I waded through the books on my shelves (I have many, many books...it's a passion of mine) to make sure that these books won't be overlooked this year. We are officially starting (and continuing...lol!) our year in the Ancient World.

Let me explain: I love Charlotte Mason, I love classical style of education as well. I love The Well Trained Mind and I love the CM series. Wow. They're not too different, yet they're completely different at the same time. I first stumbled upon WTM a few years ago and I couldn't wait until my oldest was old enough for first grade. I had plenty of time to get my ducks in a row and waited impatiently for that 1st grade mark. We were going full steam ahead with everything that Jessie and Susan Wise Bauer said. But then Miss Mason grabbed ahold of me. I love the "gentle art of learning". I love the fact that I don't have to be at a certain spot or through a certain book by a certain time. I want my school and home full of living books that tell stories rather than spurting out facts. I love letting our school be the guide and not a book. I developed a new philosophy. I guess it's mostly CM with Classical undertones.

So for a year and a half I've been following the Ambleside Online (CM) schedule and really loving it. Yet, we were also doing Story of the World (classical) history on the side. It has just been too much for me. I never keep up and always feel bad for being behind, even though we're doing more than enough school each day. Over the break I prayed about it and I realized that I can really do both CM and classical if I work at it. I have decided to put AO on pause (although I love the books and will continue using them as extras) because I didn't like how it jumped around to different time periods in history. I wanted to focus each year on a specific time period and maybe have different books outside of that period as our free reads. I am sticking with Story of the World for now, as I like the maps and extras provided in the workbook. The kids are learning so much about Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, China, and India. I'm learning much as well. I honestly was NEVER taught this! We're all loving it! Last night I searched our library online for some of the extra books that are recommended in each chapter and we have at our library at least two of the extra reads per chapter. So I'm going to request those and add those into our weeklong study of each chapter. I feel this will take away some of the stress of following two curriculums at once and it'll get me back to where I wanted to be in the history rotations. Now, we are a litte behind since my oldest is half way through second grade but it worked out perfectly! God is good isn't he?? See, now my son is old enough to listen and participate and he's getting a lot out of the Ancients as well.

I guess what it all boils down to is do what works for your family and don't be afraid to change/tweak/abandon a curriculum if you're not happy. Our day is still slam full of living books and CM style of education (picture study, music study, nature study, etc) with some classical history added in. I think we're all going to love it. And if not...I know what to do! ;)

Jill

Beginning to plan again!

I'm starting to plan out the next term for our school. I have a CM planner guide from the SCM conference that I went to and it really gives great tips on how to plan your curriculum. I actually feel like I could come up with my own curriculum on my own now. Before now I've been trying to find a curriculum that's already set and making it fit my needs. I'm not sure it's been working the way I want it too.

I'm debating, now...whether to make a few more changes. See, I've been using a lot of Ambleside Online. I love the books that they suggest, however I'm not happy with the order in which they suggest them. For instance, today we read some about the Vikings, followed by Buffalo Bill. They're both great books but there's no time continuity. We took their year 1 and did it for 1 1/2 years so we're about ready to start Year 2 for AO. I've already got the books so I can't just ditch them, but I may need to come up with my own reading schedule. I'd just like for the kids to be reading chronologically as much as possible. We're also using The Story of the World book 1 so we're getting a great Ancient history lesson. Maybe I need to add in more Ancient history living books rather than the ones AO suggests.

Any suggestions?? What have you found that works in the way of history using living books?? I'd love any help you can give!

Back to School!

After a nice two week break which included a trip to grandparents and Disney World we are back and ready to begin again! Our house is still in disarray but we will attempt some sort of normalcy beginning tomorrow. I promise to conclude my Simply Charlotte Mason conference this week. I need a refresher myself! I hope everyone has had a wonderful couple of weeks and it's good to be back! God bless your upcoming homeschool week!

Jill

Characteristics of a Living Book

At the Simply Charlotte Mason that I attended earlier this month Sonya Shafer helped us to understand the characteristics of a living book. This was eye opening to me as I've always found myself wondering how to determine if a book is worthy of the children or not. Here's what she said:

1. Make the subject come alive. A living book allows the child to live in personalities that he finds in the books. A living book entices the child's emotions. It helps you form an emotion with the event. She said that if you open the book and look over a portion of it, and you want to keep reading then you've probably found a living book. It's not a book full of dates, statistics, etc. Basically, as far away from a text book as you can get.

2. Get in touch with great ideas from great men. A mind feeds on ideas. We need to feed the children's minds with good ideas, what is beautiful, noble, and bright.

3. Well-written. CM says the books must have:
-literary power
-worthy thoughts well put
-inspiring tales well told
-good simple English with a certain charm of style

4. Not childish twaddle. Twaddle is described by Miss Mason as "not diluted". Books should not talk down to the child. Look at the length of sentences. Check out the very first sentence on the first page and that should be an indicator. A lot of the "reading made easy" books are twaddle says Sonya.

5. Give the child the idea that knowledge is supremely attractive and that reading is delightful.

6. The best you can find. CM admitted for some subjects it is hard to find a good living book. Do the best you can.

7. Can they narrate it? This was a major test that CM gave as to whether a book was a living book or not.

8. Meets your personal standards. Just because a book is on a certain book list doesn't mean you have to use it. Does it have a Biblical worldview? What attitudes are endorsed? Magic or not? Note: CM used fairy tales with kids. It helps to spur on the imagination. But again, it's a personal decision.

Basically, choose your books before God- you have to answer only to Him! CM education is not child directed, but the child should enjoy the books.

I hope this helps us all to be able to discern a good living book from twaddle. I personally don't have a problem with my dd7 reading a little twaddle every now and then. I grew up loving to read and mom let me read anything I wanted. If I had to read only more difficult and tiring books I doubt I'd have the love of reading that I have now. For school and bed time we make sure we have good living books. But in spare time I'm not going to stop her from reading a little twaddle if I have approved the book first.

Well, we're leaving tomorrow for a much needed and much anticipated family vacation. The best part?? The kids don't know yet! We're going to my in-laws for Thanksgiving and then we're leaving on Friday for Disney World! I'll post a couple of pics when I return. I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!! Even those of you not in the US...let's all remember to be thankful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! We have so many blessings!!! God bless!

Jill

Simply Charlotte Mason Conference

A couple of weeks ago I was blessed to be able to attend a SCM conference by Sonya Shafer. What a sweet, precious woman who is such a wonderful resource in learning about the CM style of education. She has many different seminars, however I attended the Books &Things Seminar (which is the one I would have chosen, given the chance)!

She started out with a quote from Miss Mason herself.

"Education is the Science of Relations; that is, that a child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts: so we must train him upon physical exercises, nature, handicrafts, science and art, and upon many living books; for we know that our business is, not to teach him all about anything, but to help him to make valid, as many as may be of 'Those first-born affinities, that fit our new existence to existing things' " (Preface to the Home Education series).

I love the part of the quote that stated "our business is not to teach him all about anything...". Doesn't that relieve a lot of the pressure that we, as homeschooling mothers, put on ourselves? Our role is to show them a little about a lot, in my opinion. We are to teach them how to teach themselves to become lifelong learners. Let's tickle their fancy about a lot of subjects and see what comes of it. I really liked that quote.

Sonya placed the three types of relations that we, as humans, have onto a chart:

Relation to God
Relation to Man
Relation to Universe

Then under each of those three she placed the school subjects that we study:

God: Bible
Man (past and present men): History, Literature, Morals and Economics, Citizenship,
Composition, Languages, Art
Universe (God's creation): Science, Geography, Math, Physical Development/Handicrafts

I love seeing these laid out in this way. Each subject is taught as a relation to one of the three things. I've just never thought of that in this way. This was the conclusion of her introduction (haha!). I'll post Session 1 in another post. Hope you're enjoying it!

Jill

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival!

Yay! It's CM blog carnival time again and I have two articles in this carnival! (I think I accidently sent two in, oops...my mistake.) But what fun to see your blog entries on someone else's site. I've really started liking this! haha! I hope you'll take a look at Richele's blog "Under the Golden Apple Tree". It's full of wonderful CM articles. And yes, I know I'm so very late in updating everyone on my wonderful CM conference. It's been a very busy time in our household and I hope to get to it soon! Meanwhile, look over the other articles on the CM blog carnival. Happy reading!

Fall Wonders- CM style!

"It would be well if all we persons in authority, parents and all who act for parents, could make up our minds that there is no sort of knowledge to be got in these early years so valuable to children as that which they get for themselves of the world they live in. Let them once get touch with Nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life. We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of pant and animal life and to care for none of these things" (Vol. 1, p. 61).

As we were waving goodbye to Daddy this morning Man-Man looked up at me with an excited grin on his face, eyes wide with anticipation. "Mommy, when can we go into the back-back and study our nature study?" The "back-back" as the kids have so named it, is the large free space that exists behind our back gate. Daddy put a gate into the fence so that we could go into the wonderful wooded area behind our house and explore all that God has for us. There is even a little creek back there.

I told Man-Man to go get his shoes on and tell his sisters we're going to do our nature study. The sleepy house was suddenly alive and jumping! In no time we were out of the doors, with Gidgi (my mom) and Lucy (our dog) in tow.

"Wow, Mom! The leaves are all gone! And our favorite hiding tree has no leaves on it either!" Man-Man was the first to notice the drastic change in our trees from two weeks ago. No longer are the beautiful yellow, red, orange, and brown leaves hanging from the trees. Instead they are piled up in a mound under the trees from which they fell. The kids love one tree in particular. It has large limbs which bend under the weight of the leaves to form a canopy of sorts. It's a club house, or secret hiding place for them. But now, it's bare and empty. We found a wonderful treasure on their tree though. Large, green, oval shaped things hung from the branches. Some of these green things were split open to reveal a pecan hanging inside. What a fun discovery! They ran around the tree finding other green capsules to open up and even began gathering the pecans they found on the ground.

I asked if they could tell which leaves used to be on the tree. There were many many different types of leaves on the ground under this tree. The wind had been working it's magic and all of the leaves were mixed up. Tink found one little lone stalk still hanging onto the special tree though. She ran and picked it, proudly proclaiming that THIS must be the leaf since it came from the tree itself. We matched it with some of the leaves on the ground.

"The child has truly a great deal to do before he is in a condition to 'believe his own eyes'; but Nature teaches so gently, so gradually, so persistently, that he is never overdone, but goes on gathering little stores of knowledge about whatever comes before him" (Vol. 1, p. 66).

Man-Man made another discovery. Over in the distance was a tree that still had many green leaves on it. As a matter of fact, though some leaves had fallen, most were still as green as ever. I picked up a leaf from our Pecan tree off of the ground and took it over to the new mystery tree. I picked a "leaf" from this tree and held the two together. We discussed the fact that this new tree was actually a pine tree and noted the differences in the leaves' shape and color. We also found other evergreen trees in our back-back and compared those leaves. Now, the children made these connections on their own. All I did was guide their discovery. How proud I was that they noticed and wanted to know more about these spiky pine needles I held in my hand.

"That the child should be taken daily, if possible, to scenes-moor or meadow, park, common, or shore-where he may find new things to examine, and so add to his store of real knowledge. That the child's observation should be directed to flower or boulder, bird or tree; that, in fact, he should be employed in gathering the common information which is the basis of scientific knowledge" (Vol. 1, p. 177).

After spending over an hour in the beautiful Fall weather we returned to the indoors to put together all that we'd discovered. Tink drew a picture of the new evergreen needles she and Man-man had discovered. She also wrote a wonderful "essay" detailing many of our facts and adventures outside. This has been one of the most surprising benefits of our Nature studies. Tink really loves to write about what she's seen or done. She writes it once and we go through it together correcting spelling and punctuation. She then recopies it onto a clean sheet to put into her nature journal. There we go...science, spelling, grammar, copywork all rolled into one!

"Of the teaching of Natural Philosophy, I will only remind the reader of what was said in an earlier chapter- that there is no part of a child's education more important than that he should lay, by his own observation, a wide basis of facts torwards scientific knowledge in the future. he must live hours in the open air, and as far as possible, in the country; must look and touch and listen; must be quick to note, consciously, ever peculiarity of habit or structure, in beast, bird, or insect; the manner of growth and fructification of every plant" (Vol. 1, p. 264).

"And this is the process the child shoudl continue for the first few years of his life. Now is the storing time which sould be spent in laying up images of things familiar" (Vol. 1, p. 66).

Jill