I had an opportunity to speak to a group of homeschooling moms yesterday about Charlotte Mason. I felt blessed to be able to share and hope that someone else was blessed by hearing about her philosophy/methods.
It's really hard to put Charlotte Mason in a nutshell. I had eight pages of notes! Thankfully, a couple of gals spoke before me, introducing Charlotte and giving an overview of how they use Ambleside Online. It allowed me to cut part of the introductory stuff. Today, I thought I would share some links I used as the basis of my notes....
Who was Charlotte Mason?
What was her philosophy/method of education?
I also highlighted what I felt were some of Charlotte's key principles:
Principle 1 - Children are born persons.
Principles 5-8 – Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life. (PNEU motto)
Principle 9 – We hold that the child’s mind is no mere sac….
Principle 12 – Education is the Science of Relations…
Principles 14 & 15 – As knowledge is assimilated until it is reproduced, children should "tell back"...
The goal of narration is the composition of thought.
What a CM education is not.
A Charlotte Mason education is not fluffy, light, nor tiptoeing through the tulips. Check out this List of Attainments.
How is it relevant today?
How to apply Charlotte's
principles/methods in your homeschool.
Habits are an important part of a
Charlotte Mason education, as is parenting in general.
Just as
it is on the whole easier for the locomotive to pursue its way on the rails
than to take a disastrous run off them, so it is easier for the child to follow
lines of habit carefully laid down than to run off these lines at his peril. It follows that this business of laying down
lines towards the unexplored country of the child’s future is a very serious
and responsible one for the parent. (Vol. 1, p. 9)
Focus on one habit at a time -
may take weeks or months per habit
Motivate by using living examples
– find person who exhibits the character quality you’re working on
1. Charlotte’s top three habits:
attention, obedience, and truthfulness
Habit
of Attention
- Use short Lessons - beginning around age 6
-
Set time limits taking child’s attention span into consideration
-
Grades 1-3 15-20 minutes
-
Grades 4-6 20-30 minutes
-
Grades 7-9 30-45 minutes
-
Vary order of lessons - Lessons should range a large variety of
subjects altering between concentrated intense subjects and less intense
subjects including those that allow for physical movement - Using different
parts of the brain allows for better attention span and concentration
-
Don’t repeat yourself
-
Play games that foster attention
-
Develop the habit of best effort by encouraging quality not quantity – you will be able
to accomplish much in a short amount of time
-
Charlotte Mason used the best books, the best music, and the best
art possible
Obedience
-
Never give a command you don’t intend to see fully carried out
-
Expect obedience – use natural consequences and encouragement
-
Don’t pester child with excessive commands (Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.)
-
Plan ahead for transition times
Truthfulness
-
Require exact facts without omission or exaggeration
-
Avoid qualifying statements
-
Don’t use excessive language for common situations
-
If needed, have daily lesson in truthful reporting
2. Living Books
-
Stands the test of time – you want to read again – usually written
by one person
-
Touches emotion; you develop a relationship with characters;
“finishing the book is like saying goodbye to an old friend”
-
Gives you ideas; sparks imagination & creativity; makes you
want to further your study
-
Avoid “twaddle” – talking down to the child; diluted;
light/fluffy; promotes laziness of the mind; liken to junk food (snack before
supper)
- choose books with substance
Charlotte’s method incorporates
many core subjects including history, geography, Bible, math, science, foreign
language, reading, writing, spelling, grammar, art, music & hymn study,
literature, poetry, and handicrafts. I broke down some of the methods used in core subjects.
History - Living books, biographies, autobiographies, narration, Book of Centuries
Geography - Living books, biographies, autobiographies, travelogues, narration, map drill
Bible - Read directly from the bible (King James version), narration, memorize and recite scripture, commentaries
Language Arts -
Math - Manipulatives, a firm understanding of why, mental math
Science - Nature study and notebook, living books, narration
What curricula/books work well with the CM method?
|
Sonlight Book Lists
Heart of
Dakota
Lifetime Books & Gifts Queen Homeschool
Lamplighter Publishing Nothing New Press
Bethlehem Books Five in a Row
WinterPromise TruthQuest
History
Yesterday’s Classics Beautiful Feet
Mott Media – Ruth Beechick books &
website Greenleaf
Press
Ray’s Arithmetic Math-U-See
RightStart Math Apologia Science
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How to modify the CM method for struggling learners?
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