Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: The Pursuit of Knowledge {vol.1}

"Like the body, the mind has its appetite, the desire for knowledge. Again, like the body, the mind is able to receive and assimilate by its powers of attention and reflection. Like the body, again, the mind rejects insipid, dry, and unsavoury food, that is to say, its pabulum should be presented in a literary form. The mind is restricted to pabulum of one kind: it is nourished upon ideas and absorbs facts only as these are connected with the living ideas upon which they hang. Children educated upon some such lines as these respond in a surprising way, developing capacity, character, countenance, initiative and a sense of responsibility. They are, in fact, even as children, good and thoughtful citizens."

CM,v6p20

The Pursuit of Knowledge

Kelly @ The Homeschool Co-op presents Keeping Curious: Retaining Our Love of Learning.

amy in peru presents Desire - Pursuit - Delight.

Sarah presents I Want to Know.


image courtesy of AMA90

Lanaya presents We Should All Be As Happy As Kings .

gina roldan presents Towards A Philosophy of Education (Desire of Knowledge - Curiosity).

Pamela Jorrick presents Loss, Mess, and Perspective.


image courtesy of shelead

Mama Squirrel presents The great wide road, the adventure we are given: a sort of manifesto.

Grace'n'Chaos presents Discovering an Ancient Queen.

"Let me try to indicate some of the advantages of the theory I am urging––It fits all ages, even the seven ages of man! It satisfies brilliant children and discovers intelligence in the dull. It secures attention, interest, concentration, without effort on the part of teacher or taught.

Children, I think, all children, so taught express themselves in forcible and fluent English and use a copious vocabulary. An unusual degree of nervous stability is attained; also, intellectual occupation seems to make for chastity in thought and life. Parents become interested in the schoolroom work, and find their children 'delightful companions.' Children shew delight in books (other than story books) and manifest a genuine love of knowledge. Teachers are relieved from much of the labour of corrections. Children taught according to this method do exceptionally well at any school. It is unnecessary to stimulate these young scholars by marks, prizes, etc."

CMv6p28

More posts on topics of interest to a Charlotte Mason education:

Nancy Kelly presents Pilgrim's Progress & Sidewalk Chalk Art.

Bobby Jo presents Building a Library, Beginning Science and Living Out an Education.


image courtesy of lumix2004

Shirley Ann Vels presents Music Appreciation...

Jimmie presents Art Haiku.

Ann presents Poet and Poetry Study - Robert Louis Stevenson & Artist and Picture Study - Norman Rockwell.



image courtesy of tijmen


"It is true that,

"There lives
No faculty within us which the Soul
Can spare: and humblest earthly weal demands
For dignity not placed beyond her reach
Zealous co-operation of all means
Given or required to raise us from the mire
And liberate our hearts from low pursuits
By gross utilities enslaved; we need
More of ennobling impulse from the past
If for the future aught of good must come."
[from Musings Near Aquapendente, by William Wordsworth]

Wordsworth is no doubt right. There is no faculty within the soul which can be spared in the great work of education; but then every faculty, or rather power, works to the one end if we make the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake the object of our educational efforts. We find children ready and eager for this labour and their accomplishment is surprising."

CMv6p93

Upcoming Carnivals:

Copywork/Dictation/Composition - 10/25
Suggested Reading:
CM vol.1 p241-246
Parent's Review article on Dictation.

Religious Studies - 11/8
Suggested Reading:
CM vol.3 p137ff & vol.6 p.159-169
Parent's Review article: A Boy's Religion & The Development of the Religious Instinct in the Child

Submit your post here.

Desire - Pursuit - Delight

This is, briefly, how it works:––

A child is a Person with the spiritual requirements and capabilities of a person.

Knowledge 'nourishes' the mind as food nourishes the body.

A child requires knowledge as much as he requires food.

He is furnished with the desire for Knowledge, i.e., Curiosity; with the power to apprehend Knowledge, that is, attention; with powers of mind to deal with Knowledge without aid from without––such as imagination, reflection, judgment; with innate interest in all Knowledge that he needs as a human being; with power to retain and communicate such Knowledge; and to assimilate all that is necessary to him.

He requires that in most cases Knowledge be communicated to him in literary form; and reproduces such Knowledge touched by his own personality; thus his reproduction becomes original.

The natural provision for the appropriation and assimilation of Knowledge is adequate and no stimulus is required; but some moral control is necessary to secure the act of attention; a child receives this in the certainty that he will be required to recount what he has read. Children have a right to the best we possess; therefore their lesson books should be, as far as possible, our best books.

They weary of talk, and questions bore them, so that they should be allowed to use their books for themselves; they will ask for such help as they wish for.

They require a great variety of knowledge,––about religion, the humanities, science, art; therefore, they should have a wide curriculum, with a definite amount of reading set for each short period of study.

The teacher affords direction, sympathy in studies, a vivifying word here and there, help in the making of experiments, etc., as well as the usual teaching in languages, experimental science and mathematics.

Pursued under these conditions, "Studies serve for delight," and the consciousness of daily progress is exhilarating to both teacher and children.

Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Series v6p18-19

Don't miss the upcoming CM Blog Carnival on the Pursuit of Knowledge!
If you have a CM related post to share, on or off topic, please submit it here.
As always future carnival themes are posted here.

Suggested Reading:
CM Series: Vol.6 pg.300ff
PR Article: The Open Road

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: Study of History {vol1}

Welcome to the latest edition of the charlotte mason blog carnival !

The Study of History

Images of Book of Centuries by Florence Rankin (?) on display @ Charlotte Mason Digital Collection

Nancy presents Telling the Bees by a Fighting Quaker - Plus a Book Recommendation!
AnnieKate presents Some Favorite Living History Authors
Penney Douglas presents History for History-Makers
Barb presents Weekly Wrap-Up: Better to Think or to Know?
Jenny presents A Book that Fits 
Adding to The Beauty presents Artist Study ~ October 2011 ~ Sandro Botticelli
Nancy presents Singing is to the Song Thrush as Narration is to the Child
Ritsumei presents Aquarium Trip
Jay3fer presents Making a (Rosh Hashanah) Lapbook, the Charlotte Mason way!
amy in peru presents Atmosphere: Intentional Living.

Helpful Links:
The Book of Centuries Revisited by Laurie Bestvater (part one) & (part two)
History: Teaching Practically Considered
Intro to History and Citizenship

Theme for the next carnival:
the Pursuit of Knowledge

Suggested Reading:
CM Series: Vol.6 pg.300ff
PR Article: The Open Road

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the charlotte mason blog carnival HERE!.

Atmosphere: Intentional Living

Wildflowers gathered - August 2011, Sunriver, OR

I overheard a really important question yesterday, the answer to which is, I think, worth reminding ourselves of on a very regular basis, 

"How do YOU stop and really live intentionally every day?"

After thinking it over a little more, my answer is as follows:
LeAnn... read aloud ;) heheh. seriously, I have been thinking the same thing as I may only have 5 more years with my oldest... yikes, did I just write that?! oh my.

Honestly, I don't live intentionally every day. I don't. But I do aspire to try.
I don't want to settle in to intentionally survive each day; I want to really live.

First, we must begin to consciously treasure up the moments, realizing how fleeting and how precious it is to have our children where they are RIGHT NOW. We can never ever have this moment back. Treasure the three year old jabber that oh too soon will turn to proper speech, boys spluttering constant motor sounds before they realize it's not "cool", the carefree over-accessorizing eight year old flaunting pink and pearls, tights and tutus, pigtails and braids prior to becoming fashion conscious, preteens proud in their becoming before blushing unsure of just what that really foretells.
Because really, someday they will fly, fly away. 

I might cry now.

:)

Here's a couple more strategies I'm putting into practice on a regular basis:


turn. off. the. computer. (and other time-wasting devices)
breathe.
read aloud.
drop everything and go outside.
eat ice cream as often as possible.
play games instead of watching tv or movies.
remember to take pictures.
pray often.
work together on meals and cleanup.
play music.
light candles just 'cause.
make tea and drink it in kid-sized tea cups.
stay charged up... get enough sleep, read the Word, drink coffee, stay in touch w/ friends, etc.
when cranky, take a break.
practice random acts of affection.
cuddle them tight.
let go of what I can't control.

What things do the rest of you do to live intentionally?

For Reading Out Loud... {part two}

For the times we don't read aloud.

[read part one here - When it's good to read aloud.]

We must always keep in mind that small children learn in so many multitudes of ways other than just listening to stories! We wouldn't want to shut them up all day inside with books. They need lots of time to process what they've heard, to play it out, or to spill outside and stomp puddles or smack mudpies and the like. We've got to give them time to digest all that they're taking in.

Then of course there are some things we simply won't read aloud. I may want to edit or skip some parts of the material unnecessary to their development at the time. Charlotte Mason actually recommended this with parts of the Old Testament. Though my husband skips nothing and my children to have survived knowing about Lot and his daughters, to my extreme relief. ;)

And soon enough, the time will come when they will be reading all on their own. We all want our children to become independent readers who LOVE to read. For example, an educational goal I have for my children, is that in the end they be able to handle whatever they are given to read (whether they tackle it straightaway or know where to find the resources to help them through). They definitely won't attain this by my reading everything to them or explaining every difficulty they come across. At some point, they must, by practice, read most if not all of their school books alone.

In those transitional days when a reader is getting ready to assume more of her school readings, it's often necessary to hand the material over gradually so as not to overwhelm. Some students while able to read, may not be able to read entirely alone (see Anne's note). Though I recommend encouraging independence, it may come slower for some than others. My 8yo daughter will be reading most of her books on her own this year, while my sons were only just transitioning into more independent reading at age 10. Everybody's different and the transition will look different for everyone. :) [for more on what this transition looks like and at what age, see vol.1 pg.230-233]

As wonderful as reading aloud is, sometimes we have less time to spare. With very young children, we do our best. We may be juggling many ages and stages simultaneously in our homes. We may suddenly realize to our dismay that overcommitted, we have so much on our plates that even the time in the car between events must needs be music-filled or silent in order to maintain sanity. However, this is a state that we cannot maintain forever. Let's face it, during some seasons it won't be possible to read aloud for enjoyment as much as we had perhaps hoped, but those books over the years that we are able to share will be remembered. In our family, through all the moves and changes I try to keep at least one book going at all times. Time spent reading aloud has definitely become one of those ties that bind us... something I never would have foreseen early on, but that now I wouldn't trade for the world.


Articles on Reading Aloud to Children:

AO discussion on Reading Aloud
Why it is So Important to Read Aloud to Your Kids
Parent Involvement and Student Achievement

Charlotte on the subject of Reading Aloud:

"Let us suppose mother and children arrived at some breezy open wherein it seemeth always afternoon. In the first place, it is not her business to entertain the little people: there should be no story-books, no telling of tales, as little talk as possible, and that to some purpose. Who thinks to amuse children with tale or talk at a circus or pantomime? And here, is there not infinitely more displayed for their delectation? " vol.1 p45


"The most common and the monstrous defect in the education of the day is that children fail to acquire the habit of reading. Knowledge is conveyed to them by lessons and talk, but the studious habit of using books as a means of interest and delight is not acquired. This habit should be begun early; so soon as the child can read at all, he should read for himself, and to himself, history, legends, fairy tales, and other suitable matter. He should be trained from the first to think that one reading of any lesson is enough to enable him to narrate what he has read, and will thus get the habit of slow, careful reading, intelligent even when it is silent, because he reads with an eye to the full meaning of every clause." vol.1 pg227


"It is a delight to older people to read aloud to children, but this should be only an occasional treat and indulgence, allowed before bedtime, for example. We must remember the natural inertness of a child's mind; give him the habit of being read to, and he will steadily shirk the labour of reading for himself; indeed, we all like to be spoon-fed with our intellectual meat, or we should read and think more for ourselves and be less eager to run after lectures." vol.1 pg228

"The power of reading with perfect attention will not be gained by the child who is allowed to moon over his lessons. For this reason, reading lessons must be short; ten minutes or a quarter of an hour of fixed attention is enough for children of the ages we have in view, and a lesson of this length will enable a child to cover two or three pages of his book. The same rule as to the length of a lesson applies to children whose lessons are read to them because they are not yet able to read for themselves." vol.1 p230

For Reading Out Loud... {part one}

When it's good to read aloud.

Oh, the preciousness of sprawling out or cuddling close while savoring a family readaloud on any given cozy evening of the week! There's nothing quite like it except for perhaps the gathering one by one around the piano as a hymn is poked out; resulting in a rehearsal of four part harmony a capella... (heheh. But let's be real. The latter has NOT happened in our family to date. Folksongs, yes, but only in one voice, and hymns? ...someday, I hope to sing them in four part harmony! I'm quite sure it's simply for lack of a piano...)

What is it about reading aloud? Is it the prolonged moments of harmony, togetherness, identification in common knowledge, the fact that all the kids are QUIET? :) Whatever it is, sharing a book is sweet.

I've always read aloud to my kids. It's the very first thing that comes to my mind with the word: homeschooling. Reading aloud always seemed the most obvious way to share knowledge before the kids knew to read themselves. And the sweetest. It wasn't long however, before the questions occurred to me, how long should this tradition continue? Is it something for young children only? Is reading aloud a necessity if I hope to turn out good readers? How much is too much?

We know that setting a good parental example in literacy is a very strong influence in producing children who enjoy reading. That is, when we are seen to enjoy gaining knowledge and living ideas from books, then it is a positive influence. On the other hand, if a child only sees his mother reading magazines, romance novels or glued to the screen reading homeschool blogs {gasp!} to the detriment of relationship and responsibility, this would NOT be a good example, now, would it?

Example is important. But example isn't primarily what I'm after when we read aloud. We must of course set an example by doing our best when reading aloud. Choosing good books, using correct inflection of voice, emotion, enunciation etc, are all important things we can teach by example. But when we read aloud we are really fluffing the nest a little, enjoying life together. In our family, it's a matter of being together and sharing family joy more than instilling reading habits. For us, reading aloud is not only for acquisition of knowledge in the early years but for sharing experience.

That said, there are many ways we share experience in story while reading independently. Family members or friends can read the same book and find common experience even when years span the readings. As Wendi has said, “Discussion still occurs, shared experiences still exist – and there's the added fun of asking 'Are you at the part where...?' 'What did you think when you got to the bit where she says...?' 'Don't you wonder what would have happened if he'd known...?'”

With young children, we read aloud in order to share wonderfully beloved stories since they have yet to acquire the skills to read them on their own. Their minds are hungry for story, and yet they are still immature when it comes to reading fast enough to satisfy their appetite for knowledge. With older children, we read aloud to share wonderfully beloved stories simply because we love to share the stories. :) I hope to continue reading aloud as long as my children will listen!

[...to be continued]


A few book suggestions from the AO lists to read aloud for multiple ages
(there are of course many, many others):

C.S Lewis' Narnia series
Little House on the Prairie series
Pilgrim's Progress
Swallows and Amazons series
Little Britches series

What has your experience been with read-alouds?
Which books have been your family's favorites?

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: Planning/Organization {vol1}

As a new school year begins, we're trying to get all our ducks in a row!

Welcome to the Organization/Planning edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival!


Let's see how it's done!
If you have any planning/organization tips that you LOVE, will you please leave a comment?! Without further ado... here are the submissions for this carnival!

Nancy presents Avoid the Grooves - Shift That Paradigm.
Barb presents Charlotte Mason Keeps Me On Track.
Amanda presents Nature Study Using Calendars Ideas.


One key thing for keeping my brain is keeping a notebook!

Shirley Ann presents New Planner.
Sonya presents Do Not Sit Up Late: Three Practical Do Not’s, Part 1.
Mama Squirrel presents First few days of school...musings.Lanaya presents When the Schedule Goes Out the Window.


In my notebook I have calendar pages for an overview, monthly as well as weekly pages.

Lizzie presents School Starts Tomorrow posted at A Dusty Frame.
Sarah presents Setting Up Shop & This Years Curriculum: Phonics Rule Book.
amy in peru presents Planning around life.


Traveling as much as we do, requires a great deal of organization and planning!! :)


Posts on miscellaneous topics related to an education based on Charlotte Mason's principles.

Jay3fer presents Very interesting… thoughts on Stuart Little.
Barb presents Living Books For High School Science .
Naomi presents Hidden Even to Ourselves.
Nadene presents A Collage of "The Cradle"


Always take time to smell the roses... (preferably not skyrockets aka: skunk flowers!

Jeanne presents Folksongs in the nursery.
Chris presents Mondays with Miss Mason-Starting with "A". & Mondays with Miss Mason?C for Character.
Tricia presents Lily Pad: A Pastels Tutorial.


...or look at the micro-wonders of the world!)

Theme for the next carnival on 9/27:

The Study of History

Suggested Reading:
* CM Series: vol. 6, p169-179 and vol.1 p279-294

Click here to see a schedule of upcoming themes and topics for future carnivals.


Submit your blog article to the next edition of
the charlotte mason blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

blog carnival coming soon!

We arrived in Lima, Peru yesterday at 4:30am and then slept a ton yesterday and I lost track of what day it was... OOPS!  The carnival will be posted this evening! There are a LOT of entries!  I´m excited!

:)

packing...

36 hours and counting...

• Finished packing 12 pieces of luggage at exactly 50lbs! ...only 2 left + carry ons! :) Yay.
• Everything on my list is purchased and almost packed.
• We have a family dinner tonight,
• church and family lunch afterward tomorrow,
• and then we leave EARLY Monday morning!

How many kids can a golf cart fit, if a golf cart can fit kids?!

Micah and I both were on the front seat as well just before taking this shot!! Keep in mind every single one of us are at our all time high for weight! Yay for furlough! :) Hilarious.

I am SO excited! Sarah the Stout took our family photos today & one day you too will see her work... right here on my blog! That is if we managed to not mess up every picture! ;)

good news and bad news

*For tickets purchased before August 30, 2011:
Two bags checked - No charge

For tickets purchased on or after August 30, 2011:
$30 for the second checked bag. Exceptions may apply.

Sad.

It is becoming more and more expensive to travel every day.

Thankfully, we don't have to pay for the second bag this time around. But seriously, it's ridiculous! For tourists, perhaps one bag is reasonable, but for people who live overseas this is seriously tragic.

We have a winner!

Thanks for playing with me! I especially liked the words, *blessings* (would've been far more spiritual), *blue* (would've shown my artistic side - I was actually thinking lavender before I added more pictures! :) and the *POEM*...! wow. I wish I were a poet... and a naturalist... and an artist... and a... oh. ahem, sorry.

 But, I'm far too simple. :)  I was thinking about the wonder of *summer*... I'm just so taken with it :) To experience the cool dampness of spring and to see the trees and flowers bud and ease into warmth, and then sun... bulging blossoms, bright green bushiness and hot sunny days. Soon the nights cool and we are gladdened by the coming of fall...

oh the loveliness of seasons. :)
 

Here's the lovely gift Bonnie left me which typifies my experience this summer exactly:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

~ T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding, FOUR QUARTETS

So in the end, Michelle, who would have won a prize for most posts had there been one, wins the prize for reading my pictures and guessing *summer* first! :) Yay! That was fun! ;)  I hope you all enjoyed the carnival and that your end of summer and beginning of fall and then winter and spring again are all glorious. :)

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival {end of summer edition}

Are you all ready for another spin around the carnival?!

We have lots of wonderful variety seeing as this time around the theme is 'Whatever Strikes Your Fancy'. Of course you will understand how perfectly fitting then that the photo decorations will be as whatever strikes my fancy. Probably flowers, because I love taking pictures of flowers. But then again, you never can tell... :) However, the first person to come up with *the one word I was thinking* when I put the pictures together, will win a prize! I have a pile of books that I've been itching to give away...

Fun.





Nancy Kelly presents:
"Degrees of Separation" or "Your Child's Future Sanity" & Avoid the Grooves - Shift That Paradigm (We get a double dose of Nancy this time around! yay!)

Barb presents:
Back to School - Making High School Fit Your Student & Homeschool Science: Things I Would Do Differently (and double Barb too!)





Ritsumei presents Nature: Puppies N Chicks

Shannon in WV presents Narration: You Mean It’s Not Just about a Book?





Michelle presents:
When to Begin Formal Lessons & Sharing Art &  What Is a Charlotte Mason Curriculum? & Are the Arts Important in Education?

(whoa! quadruple whammy!! Michelle'd win the prize for most posts if there'd been one!!)

Nikki Olivier presents A walk in the wetlands. "...falling in love with the outdoors!"





Shirley Ann Vels presents:
Appreciating Art - Appreciating Charlotte Mason's Method! & Fun, Sun, Water and a Bit of History to Boot! (yay! double Shirley!)

Lindafay presents Charlotte Mason Help: How We Organize Memory Work





Lanaya presents A Few Things I'm Learning From Miss Mason

Grace'n'Chaos presents Books & Things and Some Mother Culture





Denise presents The (Mathematical) Trouble with Pizza

Jenny presents Books & Things and Some Mother Culture.





Kathy Livingston presents Choosing Extra-Curricular Activities.

Tricia Hodges presents Lily Pad: A Pastels Tutorial.

Jeanne presents Folksongs in the nursery.





Serena presents Circle Time.

Sarah presents Setting Up Shop.

Chris McGinn presents Mondays with Miss Mason?Starting with ?A?.





At Fisher Academy Int'l, we haven't yet started school officially as we are just now really finishing up last year after our summer travels. We will be diving right into next year however, just as soon as we get to Peru (we school year round).

What are your plans? How many of you have started already? Will you start next week? Or later?

Everyone always asks, "How do you plan and organize a CM education?". So let's have a look...  
The theme of the next issue of the carnival is:  
Organization / Planning on 9/13/11

Suggested Reading:
PR Articles:
Concentration of Purpose in Education
Mental Equilibrium


PS. Do you have a guess for *the one word I was thinking* when I put together the pictures for this post? Leave a comment... and the first one to guess can choose a free book from my giveaway box. :)

Announcement, Announcement! A Carnival Announcement.

Hello there! There's something new in the air! Two fun things are coming soon.  Are you excited?

For one, the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival will be up tomorrow, and it's been such a little while since the last one, I'm really looking forward to it, aren't you? :) We have 'whatever strikes your fancy' as the theme this time around, so if you haven't submitted your CM post yet, do it today before it's too late :)


If you need the CM blog carnival button, go ahead and steal this one ;)

Second, it's almost fall, which means for most of you school's starting up again in full force. For our family it means we have only two weeks left until we go back to Peru! We've had a momentous summer visit, and we're so thankful for all the opportunities we've had to meet with family and friends doing lots of fun stuff. I'm sorry for not blogging it, but when there's a choice to blog life or to live life, well... right. That's where priorities come into play now, do they not? :)


Our family at the Space Needle in Seattle! Yay!



I hope y'all have had a wonderful summer and that your fall will be beautiful too (in spite of the hurricanes). In the next few months as our family adjusts to life back in South America, the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival will continue with a lineup of interesting yet hopefully challenging and practical topics. Please stay tuned for further info. If you have a blog, please consider hosting the carnival this coming year. If you are interested, send an e-mail to charlottemasonblogs (at) gmail (dot) com.


Here are a few pictures I just happen to have handy of myself with a few of my friends earlier this summer @ the Childlight USA Conference... :)

My friend Bonnie

...and Leslie

...and Cindy!

Every moment matters.
Enjoy.

:)

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: Science of Relations {vol1}

On what does Fulness of Living depend? What is education after all? An answer lies in the phrase – Education is the Science of Relations... What we are concerned with is the fact that we personally have relations with all that there is in the present, all that there has been in the past, and all that there will be in the future – with all above us and all about us – and that fulness of living, expansion, expression, and serviceableness, for each of us depend upon how far we apprehend these relationships and how many of them we lay hold of.                           vol.3 p.186

When we look at Education: the Science of Relations, I think many of us are either overwhelmed by the thought or else we have no idea what to make of the idea... it's an all encompassing philosophy of not so much education only, but a way of life! Building relations with a number of persons and things based on our interests and affinities is an enriching part of a CM education! Read on. :)

Science of Relations.

Lanaya presents Welcome to Your World

Shirley Ann Vels presents The Joy of Living in Far Lands...

amy in peru presents The Science of Relations.



Everything else Charlotte Mason.

Jay3fer presents Meeting the Masters: Van Gogh, Part 2

Gina presents Home Joys: Connections

Nature Study.

Nikki Olivier presents ....and finally, a Nature Club Walk!

Lynn presents Garden Science

Ann presents Birthday Picnic - Outdoor Hour Challenge #10

Narration.

Laura Grace Weldon presents Save Moments In A Memory Jar

Jimmie presents a 3-part series on Narration Basics: Expectations, From Oral to Written, Dealing with Problems



Thank you all for your submissions and comments!  Keep up the good work!
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the charlotte mason blog carnival HERE.

As we are approaching the end of summer, in celebration, the next CM blog carnival (to be posted, 8/30/2011)
Theme will be: anything goes! ;)
Until next time!

amy in peru.

Scinece of Relations.

My favorite gleanings from my readings on the subject:

“Education is the Science of Relations. The idea that vivifies teaching in the Parents' Union is that Education is the Science of Relations; by which phrase we mean that children come into the world with a natural 'appetency,' to use Coleridge's word, for, and affinity with all the material of knowledge; for interest in the heroic past and in the age of myths; for a desire to know about everything that moves and lives, about strange places and strange peoples; for a wsh to handle material and to make; a desire to run and ride and row and do whatever the law of gravitation permits. Therefore we do not feel it is lawful in the early days of a child's life to select certain subjects for his education to the exclusion of others; to say he shall not learn Latin, for example, or shall not learn Science; but we endeavour that he shall have relations of pleasure and intimacy established with as many as possible of the interests proper to him; not learning a slight or incomplete smattering about this or that subject, but plunging into vital knowledge, with a great field before him which in all his life he will not be able to explore. In this conception we get that 'touch of emotion' which vivifies knowledge, for it is probable that we feel only as we are brought into our proper vital relations.”

v3p224

“Children should have relations with earth and water, should run and leap, ride and swim, should establish the relation of maker to material in as many kinds as may be; should have dear and intimate relations with persons, through present intercourse, through tale or poem, picture or statue; through flint arrow-head or modern motor-car: beast and bird, herb and tree, they must have familiar acquaintance with. Other peoples and their languages must not be strange to them. Above all they should find that most intimate and highest of all Relationships, - the fulfillment of their being.

v3 p210

This is not a bewildering programme, because, in all these and more directions, children have affinities; and a human being does not fill his place in the universe without putting out tendrils of attachment in the directions proper to him. We must get rid of the notion that to learn the 'three R's' or the Latin grammar well a child should learn these and nothing else. It is as true for children as for ourselves that, the wider the range of interests, the more intelligent is the apprehension of each.”

v3p210

On what does Fulness of Living depend? What is education after all? An answer lies in the phrase – Education is the Science of Relations... What we are concerned with is the fact that we personally have relations with all that there is in the present, all that there has been in the past, and all that there will be in the future – with all above us and all about us – and that fulness of living, expansion, expression, and serviceableness, for each of us depend upon how far we apprehend these relationships and how many of them we lay hold of. 

v3 p186

Every child is heir to an enormous patrimony, heir to all the ages, inheritor of all the present. The question is, what are the formalities (educational, not legal) necessary to put him in possession of that which is his? You perceive the point of view is shifted, and is no longer subjective, but objective, as regards the child. 

v3 p187

Enjoy! :)

Twaddle Control

Do you have a problem with junk reading in your home? Do your kids just seem to gravitate toward the fluff, when you'd rather they read the healthy stuff?  How durst we keep the twaddle under control?

First of all, what is twaddle? For those of us familiar with Charlotte Mason, twaddle is a familiar term, and is basically the opposite of a living book. For those who've yet to spend time with her these might be still new or foreign ideas.

twaddle

[Noun] silly, trivial, or pretentious talk or writing

[Verb] [-dling, -dled] to talk or write in a silly or pretentious way [earlier twattle]

~ definition courtesy of Twaddlefree Bookstore

I think of twaddle as junk food in the form of books.

"That children like feeble and tedious...story books, does not at all prove that these are wholesome food; they like lollipops but cannot live upon them."

Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education, p. 117

image courtesy of MissCGlass

I cannot think of a better tactic, whether you have small children or avid readers than to maintain control from the start by screening what comes into your home. After all, you buy the groceries don't you? But what if a book shows up from a well-meaning friend or family member? When they're small, this can be pretty simple. In general, mine have hardly noticed when they've gotten a twaddly book as a gift and it "accidentally" is hidden immediately under or inside the couch (unless of course they've somehow grown an unruly fetish for Thomas the Train and it happens to be a book about him...  I'm afraid you may be in it for the long haul). Before they have an opportunity to ask for it, I offer some beautiful alternative, hopefully they never even miss it! :) If yours do insist, or you have grandparents who will ask, what I've done is, tell them we'll read it once now and then we'll trade it in for another book (my selection). Yay for used book stores and garage sales!!  :)

For older children, discuss the reasons you put limits on what they read. This will usually include moral as well as quality issues. Talk to them about what makes a good book... Make sure to have a wide variety of options for them, and then let them choose which books they want to read first. We use the AmblesideOnline book lists which include the yearly curriculum reads as well as a list of "Free Reading" (also required by the end of the year, but they decide priority and pace based on preference). You might formulate your own "approved book reading list" for your older child from the lower AO years booklists that your child may have missed as well as from a book like All Through the Ages or Honey for a Child's Heart. Then let them choose which books sound most interesting to them.   

image courtesy of ilco

At the library, our rule for choosing books was: the books you may look at at the library are not necessarily those that we bring home with us. When my kids were smaller, I allowed them to peruse the children's section freely and gather a stack of books, which I always reserved the right to screen. I would make sure there was nothing offensive, then from what they chose, I would separate one or two that were eligible to take home. I would tell them that they could read the other books while we were in the library, but that those books would stay there. I usually had prepared a list of books that I'd check out to make sure the basket was FULL of a good variety to bring home with us. Depending on the ages of my children, my choices would usually include some picture books with beautiful illustrations to please the senses, several read alouds with beautiful use of language and an easy reader or two with interesting ideas.

If you find yourself with a house already full of junk book addicts, it may be a bit more difficult. I would recommend working on this in stages. Usually I've had limited space for books, so I buy a bunch of good books at garage sales or thrift stores and subtly weed out the undesirables to make room for the new acquisitions. If there are some twaddly favorites, I'd just wait. Let them stay on the shelf for awhile. They're not hurting anyone there. Chances are if we consistently present them with a banquet of a wide variety of enticing foods, they'll generally be satisfied with the material that tends to taste better, nourish more and last longer. If they eat a little junk food now and then, it's not really going to hurt, but it's best to subtly steer them by making suggestions toward the material that will tend to nourish their hearts and minds.

Oh and finally, set a good example. Read good books. Choose quality material for yourself based on classic literature or personal recommendation. Discuss the books you read with your children when possible and talk about what you liked about them and why they're good or why they weren't. And obviously, read good books to your children... but I guess that pretty much goes without saying ;) 


Useful Links for choosing good books:

AmblesideOnline offers booklists for every year. I LOVE the selections! Do you Amble? If not, why not try it? AmblesideOnline is a great way to homeschool, and it's all right there online!! Read a definition of what makes a living book here.

All Through the Ages is an AMAZING resource! It's basically a book of great books to read at all different levels based on the time period. Each section includes a timeline, suggestions of resources for all ages, and then suggestions for the different reading levels, grades 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12. The genres include selections of books based on specific events, culture, biography, literature from teh time period, and historical fiction. I love this book!

I personally haven't had great success yet with Simply Charlotte Mason's bookfinder, but I know others have, so give it a try, maybe you'll have better luck than I.

What do you do to control twaddle? Is it important to you?

CM Blog Carnival - Handicrafts {vol.1}

Welcome to the Handicrafts edition of 

the Charlotte Mason blog carnival!

"The report and the Natural Science and Handicrafts taught by our ex-students during the past five years is most cheering and encouraging. Not one handicraft seems to have fallen through. There has not been time yet for our Leather-embossing, Repousse and Woodcarving to work their way, but Book-binding, Cardboard-Sloyd and Basket-making seem to have succeeded very well. With regard to sloyd work, the fact that it encourages children to invent and carry out models of their own speaks greatly in its favor. It is the inventive faculty in children we all wish to encourage and cultivate. The same may be said of Basket-making. Children soon begin to invent their own patterns, and if along with pretty designs we get careful and accurate work the educational value of these employments soon shows itself."  

Parent's Review article, Our Work

AmblesideOnline presents Handicrafts

Serena@CastingPearls presents Adventures in Soap Making.

Barb presents Handicrafts- Appropriate and Essential for High School?, saying, "This was a really fun post to put together for the carnival. I hope that it inspires other families to make handicrafts an essential part of their homeschooling plans. Our family has definitely seen the benefits."

Nadene presents How Handicrafts and Life Skills Become Great Assets, saying, "Handicraft and life skills provide so much more than a craft or project!"

Amanda presents Why Include Handicrafts in Your Homeschool?

Angela England presents 5 Educational Activities in Your Backyard | Blissfully Domestic





Sarah presents Don't Break The Charm!

Mountaineer Country presents Living the Charlotte Mason Lifestyle.

Lanaya presents Handicraft.

Catherine presents Handicrafts.

Penney Douglas presents Kids and Crowns.





Rachael presents Handicrafts - Sewing.

amy in peru presents Handi-crafty Kids.

Naomi presents Handcraft Fair

SimpyCharlotteMason has an series of posts on Homeschool Handicrafts

Here are some Parent's Review articles I found useful:
On Some Aspects of Slojd
The Value of Art Training and Manual Work

Along with the handicrafts CM mentioned in her books and mentioned above is sloyd and admittedly, I have no idea what it is, except that it has to do with paper and wood. I haven't had time to actually read the articles I googled that I'm about to share with you, so you can research it at your own pace :)

Free books on sloyd... whatever sloyd is ;) heheh.
Sloyd
Elementary Sloyd and Whittling
Paper Sloyd: a handbook for primary grades

Enjoy!

Please, as always, if you've posted on Handicrafts and would like to share your post, please feel free to link up in the comments!  :)

*Please Note: The next CM blog carnival will be in 4 weeks (7/26) - the Science of Relations.
 

**This concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the charlotte mason blog carnival using our carnival submission form.

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: Nature Study (vol1)

Welcome to the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival!  Nature Study. Volume One.

Nature study at the Grand Canyon. Studying the panorama, observing, sketching, etc.

Nature study as a subject is one which should be approached with great reverence, for in dealing with birds, animals, flower and all other forms of natural life, we are perhaps, nearer to the Creator than in any other branch of science; for the natural world is the expression of God's personality in a form that is within the reach of all of us to comprehend in some measure. And is not the natural world one of the greatest proofs that there is a God?
The secret of having reverence in all branches of Nature Study lies in reverence for Life in any shape or form. In speaking of this reverence for Life, Miss Mason says, "Reverence for Life as a wonderful and awful gift which a ruthless child may destroy but never can restore, is a lesson of first importance to the child."   

PR Article, "The Charm of Nature Study"

The reading selections for this edition are as follows:

• CM series: Vol.1, pg43 - 93
• PR article: How to Best Study Nature

Mountain Chickadee, LaPine, OR

Barb presents Nature Study and Summer Travels - Four Steps to Prepare

Cindy West presents June's Creation Club | Our Journey Westward

Kris Correira presents Surprising Wealth of Living Nature Books

Penney Douglas presents How to Raise a Monarch from a Caterpillar

Grey Squirrel, LaPine, OR., with the biggest, fluffiest tail. ever.

Sarah presents Discovering Spring

Lanaya presents Ladie Green Eyes

Serena@CastingPearls presents Charlotte Mason and Nature Study

amy in peru presents Using Field Guides in Nature Study



Karyn Tripp presents Read Along- The Burgess Animal Book for Children, Chapter 1

Tricia Hodges presents Backyard Bunnies

Ann presents Spring Bird Study - Outdoor Hour Challenge Spring Series #3
and Harvest Moon by Hand: Outdoor Hour Challenge Spring Series #2 Weather Observations

Grace'n'Chaos presents Ready For The Originals saying, "This is an attempt at beginning to truly understand Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education and our continued journey down that path."

Angie in GA presents I am, I ought, I can, I will; therefore I am Free!

Thank you all for your contributions!  You make the carnival what it is!  You're the greatest!
Please make sure to comment on posts, you never know what encouragement might mean to someone!  

Our next run at the carnival will be on June 28th.

Handicrafts.

@ http://holistichomeschooler.blogspot.com

Suggested Reading:

CM Series. Volume 1, pg 316

PR Article...The Value of Art Training and Manual Work.

This concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
the charlotte mason blog carnival using our carnival submission form.
(Please submit your post before 5pm Monday, June 27th)

Using Field Guides in Nature Study

Have you ever felt overwhelmed in the face of such a giant book like Handbook of Nature Study or other field guides not knowing where exactly to begin? They have SO much interesting information! How might we go about making them useful tools in education? Well, these books can be very helpful, but not for whom you might at first think. Have you considered that as teachers we may find scheduling readings for ourselves from the Handbook of Nature Study or other field guides extremely helpful? Did you ever think using them with the children could actually be a problem? To a certain degree we must take care not to use these kinds of books heavily with our children except perhaps for identification after a rich time outside of careful observation and the child's completion of an entry in the his/her nature notebook. Here's why:

It is possible to find all the information in books we could ever want on nature study. There are books which contain every observable, and unobservable fact for that matter, the realization of which certainly might rob us and our children of the initial wonder and resulting keen observation of aspects of nature we've never seen before. Identification books ought to be used by the teacher mommy for reference preferably before the nature study/walk and by the student only afterward, according to CM.

" All men are interested in Science - At former meeting of the British Association, the President lamented that the progress of science was greatly hindered by the fact that we no longer have field naturalists - close observers of Nature as she is. A literary journal made a lamentable remark thereupon. It is all written in books, said this journal, so we have no longer any need to go to Nature herself. Now the knowledge of Nature which we get out of books is not real knowledge; **the use of books is, to help the young student to verify facts he has already seen for himself. Let us, before all things, be Nature-lovers; intimate acquaintance with every natural object within his reach is the first, and possibly, the best part of a child's education.** "  Vol.2, p62

Personally, I aspire to become a nature field guide of sorts for my children, full of information, and yet able to wisely dole out precious gems in a provocative manner, or then refrain from doing so at just the right moment. :) I wish I'd grown up studying nature, or at least in close proximity to someone who had. But I didn't. I get to study now. I get out as often or more than my own children and am every bit as curious as they might be. I can't get enough of the field guides... I've got to have answers! Looking over the field guides helps 'ignorant' me to have some information in store for my wonder-full children when they have need of it. Of course on the same note, most of the time just staying out of their way is paramount!

Our Peru.

Yay!  It was SO much fun meeting many of you this last weekend at ChildlightUSA!  So much fun. Only this, I felt so much pressure from such a number of you who asked for pictures of what it is like in the jungle where we live!!

Well, that and after two months, I'm missing Peru.
If you click the picture link below you will be able to SEE a little bit of our Peru too.






Enjoy!