A Charlotte Mason Education -

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Charlotte Mason Monthly
Vol. 4, No. 2 -- December 2001
Copyright 2001 Deborah Taylor-Hough
ISSN: 1527-1277 All Rights Reserved
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To subscribe, send an email containing any message to: mailto:join-cm-monthly@ds.xc.org
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IN THIS ISSUE:
-- "Dear Readers"
-- Charlotte Mason Quote-able
-- Book Selection (Part Three)
-- A Day in the Life ...
-- Art History and Your Child
-- Articles of Interest: Holidays
-- Letters to the Editor / Reader Tips
-- Assorted Information (archives, retrieving back issues, etc.)
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Dear Readers,

Catherine Levison and I put our heads together and came up with some twaddle-free ideas for the holidays. The list of ideas appeared in an issue of the Charlotte Mason Monthly last year, but the article is still available via email autoresponder. To receive an email copy of the Twaddle-Free Holidays article, send an email to: twaddlefreeholidays@sendfree.com

Also, I don't know if many of you have heard of this new Christmas-themed one hour dramatic comedy produced by Coral Ridge Ministries in Florida which will air during Christmas week, but I think it sounds like it might be a good show. It's not a low-budget production by any means ... 2.5 million dollars to make, filmed in Florida and Universal Studios (LA), and starring Dean Jones as Scrooge.

The show is adapted from Dickens' A Christmas Carol and D. James Kennedy's, What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?, and will be airing throughout the United States on both cable and regular networks.

For futher information (dates, air times, photos, etc.), go to:

http://www.scroogeandmarley.tv/


Simply Yours,

Debi
(Deborah Taylor-Hough)
Editor, Charlotte Mason Monthly Email Newsletter
Author, "Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month," and "A Simple Choice: A Practical Guide for Saving Your Time, Money and Sanity" (Champion Press)
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CHARLOTTE MASON QUOTE-ABLE

"Teachers, and even parents, who are careful enough about their children's diet, are so reckless as to the sort of mental aliment offered to them, that I am exceedingly anxious to secure consideration for this question, of the lessons and literature for little people ... We see, then, that the children's lessons should provide material for their mental growth, should exercise the several powers of their minds, should furnish them with fruitful ideas, and should afford them with knowledge, really valuable for its own sake, accurate, and interesting, of the kind that the child may recall as a man with profit and pleasure."

--Charlotte Mason, Home Education, pp. 176, 177.
The Original Homeschooling Series (six volume set)
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BOOK SELECTION (Part Three) -- Textbooks
Copyright 2001 Catherine Levison
Used with permission. All rights reserved.


Charlotte Mason families usually follow the concept of using a whole book that covers one topic. However at times it's advantageous to use a normal textbook or a living textbook. Either can be used as it is designed or used it as a backbone where you could fill in with living/whole books.

For example, if the science textbook covers electricity we could read that portion and then locate a whole book on Thomas Edison or Benjamin Franklin. After conducting some experiments (careful with those electrical ones) and possibly visiting the science museum or some other field trip, we could return to the textbook to see what else we might cover.

This format provides structure, and sometimes comfort, to those who do not want to write their own curriculum. A word to the wise on textbooks -- they may not even cover some topics that you consider to be a priority. On the other hand, if the book is comprehensive then the basic downfall is in the attempt to get around to everything, they ordinarily have to rely on summarizing, resulting in a lack of detail.


LIVING TEXTBOOKS

There are many books that would fall under the category of a living textbook and some of them are truly great finds. There are several definitions as well. One might be the kind of book that is close to being a living book because of its biographical information but it lacks details because it's simply too short.

For instance, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers and Mathematicians Are People Too (and their sequels) are books I own and use. While I recommend both of them, they are not substantial books covering an entire life by including ample details. Both books have brief biographies and quickly move on to the next life. One drawback they hold in common is when read cover to cover (or even partially), they yield very little retention. Too many people are covered too rapidly, and confusion of details is the end result. Powerful memory or not, when one tries to recall which composer had a large family and which one died childless you will find it difficult to remember.

The solution might be to choose one historical figure, starting with either of these books and spend a month or two following up on the material covered.

Another attribute that sets a living textbook apart from a normal textbook is its use of literary language. Anytime we choose a book we want to look for that quality.

Lastly, the living textbook is written in a narrative style. This brings up the important point that a valuable book can be overlooked and discarded due to its textbook look. As we do not judge a book by its cover, we should not judge a book by its format. Don't miss out on a great book just because it has paragraph titles. Narrative textbooks are available in used bookstores, and there are good ones still in print.

In conclusion, let me say that many parents are asking for a Charlotte Mason scope and sequence or curriculum. While this is not a wrong desire we need to understand the limitations one individual's curriculum would have. Literary taste varies from person to person -- likewise convictions and the resulting discrimination. A book one person might deem worthy is in another's discard pile. A book I might treasure as my all-time favorite you may consider to be the world's worst book.

A case in point would be if a reviewer has ever let you down (and odds are they will eventually), then you're familiar with the disappointment that results from finally having a recommended book arrive only to find out it isn't at all that you expected it to be. Even more important is if the reviewer (or curriculum writer) has a motive (e.g., selling the products they recommend), then you have to weigh their advice even more.

Aside from who writes the list, it will only be as valuable as the books are available. If you can't obtain the recommended book, it isn't going to be helpful to you. A great percentage of my Charlotte Mason finds are not generally available. No one enjoys conducting a thorough search with the end result of not obtaining it.

We also have to be careful not to limit ourselves to only books that were directly named by Charlotte Mason herself, not only because many are inaccessible today, but we also need to recognize there have been thousands of valuable books written since her death. I believe she would be the first to tell us we had made a foolish decision and taken her preferences too literally.

This method seems to attract book lovers and Charlotte was one herself. She spent time looking for great, affordable works for her students. We can look at lists, make and take recommendations, but ultimately we have to locate them ourselves. It seems to be a good use of our time and effort.


SUBMITTED BY: Catherine Levison
--Catherine is a home schooling parent with over a decade of experience. She's the mother of five children, a grandmother, and the author of the popular book, A Charlotte Mason Education: A How-To Manual, the sequel More Charlotte Mason Education, and the newly released book, A Literary Education (Champion Press). Catherine resides with her family in the Seattle/Tacoma area. She's also a regular contributor to the Bright-Kids email newsletter. For more of Catherine's articles, visit: christianity.com/cmason

Catherine Levison's books and audiotapes can be browsed at.

BOOKS
1) A Charlotte Mason Education
2) More Charlotte Mason Education
3) A Literary Education

AUDIO WORKSHOPS
1) An Overview of the Charlotte Mason Method
2) The Language Arts for (Almost) Free
3) History and Science
4) Balancing Act: To Structure or Not to Structure
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A DAY IN THE LIFE ...
(A look into a CM-Monthly reader's home/school day.)
Submitted by: Lori Lynn Lydell


Two years ago when my sons were 3 and 1, I knew we were going to eventually home educate them and wanted to find out a little more about the process. Every time I researched home education, whether on the internet or in the library, one name repeatedly appeared on each search result: "Charlotte Mason." I was intrigued and looked into her philosophy. At first I got just as far as the "living book" philosophy. Being a book-lover myself, I whole-heartedly agreed with her thought process. I could see how my boys were drawn into the original Beatrix Potter series, with it's beautiful language more than they were into other "dumbed-down books."

This summer, I read Catherine Levinson's A Charlotte Mason Education which is a great primer for each subject the CM-way, and in September we began kindergarten with my five-year-old.

Here's our morning:

We begin our lessons at 9:00 AM after breakfast together and chores. We begin by praying the Lord's Prayer and saying the Pledge of Allegiance together (my 3-year-old says them too).

Then we have Bible. We are reading through both the Old Testament (leaving out the "begats") and the New Testament (N.T. Mon-Wed-Fri; O.T. Tues-Thur). I read a passage and our five-year-old narrates it back to me.

Next is reading. He is learning to read using the BOB-books. He reads a complete book each day. We repeat the books for a few days so that he learns the words. After reading the first time, he tells the story back to me in his own words (more narration). From those books I have pulled out certain sight words that we drill each morning, too. After this, I read to him from a living book. We read Caddie Woodlawn a chapter a day until it was finished. He narrated after every chapter. We just finished Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh and he narrated that, too.

Then, on to handwriting, which we use a program called "Handwriting Without Tears" by Jan Olsen, an occupational therapist. Keeping with Miss Mason's ideas of short lessons, these lessons only take about ten minutes.

Since September, he has memorized three poems. When he is working on a poem, I print it on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper and tape it onto the wall near where he sits for lessons and for supper.

We have also learned a few hymns. I am the pianist/organist for our church so I started teaching him a few favorites. Mostly he was learning the first verse and the chorus so that he could sing along on Sunday morning, but now we are focusing on one hymn at a time and he learns all the verses. During this time I am also teaching him how to read the time of a piece of music and find middle-C on the piano.

We take six Spanish words every three weeks or so and learn them. We are up to 18 now.

We use Saxon kindergarten for our Math, again 15 minute lessons...

Since this is Kindergarten, I'm not giving him a real focused history lesson. We are currently learning about Thanksgiving by reading good books on the subjects of the pilgrims and Squanto. I am collecting books for later years.

In science we are using a program from Scholastic using the Magic School Bus. This isn't nature study, which veres from Miss Mason's ideas, but it is interesting to the boys. They send us experiments and activities that go with the book.

Our morning lessons never go past 11:30am and are usually complete before 11:00am (that's just two hours with all of those subjects covered very completely). But really, we are all learning all day.

We are looking at prints from the National Gallery of Art for our study of Fine Art. The other day, he sat on my lap at the PC and just marvelled at scrolling through some prints on their website! We also have a monthly visit to the state museum.

We all listen to classical music on CD's and through the local NPR station and I point out the composer as we listen.

We live in the country so we have great trails on which we can take Nature Walks. We look for deer sign in the forms of trails, prints, and hair on the barbed wire, and both boys are very skilled in this area. We identify birds at our feeder outside the living room picture window and while walking.

Handicrafts are not a problem because I'm crafty and the boys are with me. Our five-year-old cooks a mean scrambled eggs and helps with dinner often, as well as other projects done at the kitchen table.

I know this is a long message, but I have to add that I am not doing a specific pre-school program for our three-year-old, but he knows all of the Spanish words and sat on my lap for the entire reading of Caddie Woodlawn and Thanksgiving Story. This morning he did the same math lesson my five-year-old did. I let him come and go as he pleases, and he seems to want to be with us, so he is LEARNING.

I love Charlotte Mason and can't wait to meet her in heaven. I am so ENJOYING our lessons, I look forward to each new book and I'm learning right along with our sons.

--Lori Lynn Lydell
Newport, PA
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**Editor's Note: We encourage contributions from readers of the CM-Monthly. If you'd like to share what A-Day-in-the-Life of your home looks like, email me at:  dsimple@aol.com with "CM-Day" in the subject line. We're all looking forward to hearing about your home/school educational days! ~Debi, editor of the CM-Monthly
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ART HISTORY AND YOUR CHILD
Copyright 2001 Gladys Jimenez
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
www.scribbleskidsart.com


Art History is about the feelings, ideas and events of different cultures throughout history recorded by any form of art. By studying art we connect to the past and discover ourselves in the present.

To me art history is much like story telling. As thinking human beings, we have the need to communicate ideas and feelings. Art is the universal way of communicating throughout time because when you look at a painting it doesn't matter what language you speak to really appreciate and capture its message. Some art can make us feel happy, sad or whatever feeling the artist was trying to get across. When we look at artwork that moves us it's because we think of our own personal experience as we connect with the artist's artwork.

From pre-historic times, with cave men drawing on cave walls about their environment to modern times, with modern men painting art murals in our cities, people have been telling their stories through art.

Art history is about past events and changes that are made visible to us through the artist's interpretation of what led to these events and ideas. Perhaps their interpretation would differ from actual history facts but only through our own research can we learn about history.

One can research past events not only by reading history books, learning about cultures and a particular era, but also by studying the background of the artists as well as their artwork's style of
painting.

Children need to be to expose to as many different artists and their artwork, history events and encouraged to think and talk about what they see and feel. We need to supportively provide the resourses and materials they need as well as a place where they can do their work.

Sometimes we can take advantage of normal everyday activities to talk about art with our children. For instance, if someone mentions Leonardo DiCaprio, you can ask them if they know that there was a famous artist named Leonardo.

If your child does a piece of artwork that resembles a certain artist's style, you can say it looks like a Kandinsky or Picasso, whatever artist it reminds you and together look more into it. If your child loves flowers, show him or her artwork by Georgia O'Keeffe.

Children can do on their own research and perhaps even use it for extra credit in school. They can write about their findings and express their ideas through their own artwork, but the most important thing is to have fun.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
--Gladys Jimenez is an artist, art docent and founder of Scribbles, where kids can create art, learn about art, enter contests, win art supplies and color on line. Visit Scribbles or email Gladys at: Scribbles@artistemail.com
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ARTICLES OF INTEREST: Holidays
These articles can be accessed by sending a blank email to the address listed after each one.

"Christmas Books for Holiday Reading"
A great idea for the December holidays is to start a family Holiday Book Box. Included with this article is a list of family favorite books.  Email to:  christmasbooks@sendfree.com

"Christmas Bills?!"
Do the phrases "frugal living" and "holiday giving" seem to be at opposite ends of the spending spectrum?  Email to:  christmasbills@sendfree.com

"Simple Family Holiday Ideas"
A simple holiday? Is it possible? A collection of easy and inexpensive ideas to strength family memories during the holiday season.  Email to:  holidayideas@sendfree.com
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / READERS' TIPS
(Feel free to share any helpful tips, homeschooling ideas, or personal thoughts about Charlotte Mason's methods with other readers.)
Email your letters to Debi at:  DSimple@aol.com

Re: Christmas is coming
With Christmas fast approaching, I thought that I would pass this gift idea along to other CM-Monthly readers. Quite often I get phone calls from the grandparents this time of year asking for gift ideas for our family. I have for the past three years responded to their inquiries with the request for a family membership to one of our area attractions. This allows us to visit a particular museum often, without worrying about paying for admission fees. Also, with one of my children being pre-school age, I can make our trips shorter in length, knowing that we can return anytime to see something that we missed. We live in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area and have many educational opportunities available to us. Last year we received a one year membership to the Art Institute of Chicago and received four free tickets to the VanGogh/Gauguin exhibit. Some other ideas other than art museums are your local zoo, children's museum, botanical gardens. The ideas are only limited by what is available in your area. We have enjoyed our past membership to an outdoor living history museum called 'Old World Wisconsin' which has moved actual homes and cabins from Wisconsin's pioneer past and reconstructed them on their grounds. Just think about where you like to take your children for field trips, and find out if they offer yearly memberships.
--Laura B., Milwaukee WI
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FAMILY "TWADDLE-FREE" READING LIST
Recommended books for children and families
Go to: http://hometown.aol.com/BeeME1/bookstore.html
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Feel free to forward this newsletter to your family and friends. :-)
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DEBI'S ONLINE RESOURCES

A Frugal, Simple Life
http://members.aol.com/dsimple/

Bright-Kids E-zine -- fun and easy educational ideas for families
mailto:subscribe-bright-kids@ds.xc.org

Frozen Assets Discussion Group and Archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/frozen-assets
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