A Charlotte Mason Education - The Charlotte Mason Monthly ________________________________
Vol. 3, No. -- June/July 2002
Circulation: 7,000+
http://sites.silaspartners.com/cmason/DSimple@aol.comCopyright 2002 Deborah Taylor-Hough
ISSN: 1527-1277 All Rights Reserved
________________________________
To subscribe,
join-cm-monthly@hub.thedollarstretcher.com________________________________
IN THIS ISSUE:-- "Dear Readers"
-- Charlotte Mason Quote-able
-- Charlotte Mason Methods and the Big Family
-- Living Science Books: Reader Recommendations
-- Five Tips for a Connected Family Summer
-- Letters to the Editor / Reader Tips
-- Assorted Information (archives, retrieving back issues, etc.)
________________________________
Dear Readers,Due to looming book deadlines I faced in June, I found it necessary to combine both the June and July issues of The Charlotte Mason Monthly into a single issue. Sorry for any confusion when the June issue didn't arrive.
We should be back on our regular publication schedule now. Hope you're having a great summer!
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"
http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/" http://my.tupperware.com/debihough/________________________________
CHARLOTTE MASON QUOTE-ABLE"... our grandfathers and grandmothers recognized children as reasonable beings, persons of mind and conscience like themselves; but, needing their guidance and control, as having neither knowledge nor experience. Witness the queer old children's books which have come down to us; these addressed children as, before all things, reasonable, intelligent, and responsible persons."
--Charlotte Mason,
School Education, (Vol. 3)
From the
Original Homeschooling Series (six volume set)________________________________
CHARLOTTE MASON METHODS AND THE BIG FAMILYCopyright 2000/2002 Catherine Levison
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
I have five children and there's nothing easy about a big family no matter how or where they get their education. I used to go to a big family support group meeting for years and later wound up running one of my own with a friend. How I chose my homeschooling topics and reading material was to have a variety aimed at different age levels. For example, I went through American history and all of its aspects with my second child when he was in first and second grade. I had my third child who was preschool age sit in on every reading we had. At the end of the two years, she had more knowledge (lasting knowledge) than anyone in her age group I've ever known.
So one option is to primarily choose topics and books aimed right in the middle of the age range.
But also choose books and topics of interest for the older children and allow the younger ones to stretch their minds. It also doesn't hurt to read books a little less advanced from time to time. I've read from books about the French Revolution, for example, that were meant for grade school children but I learned a lot.
Skills like math and spelling have to be age appropriate but topics like volcanoes can be studied by the whole family. Field trips and various books and videos can be enjoyed by all. Your seventeen-year-old would be expected to use more advanced material and report (either in writing or verbally) on a more advanced level. If the discussion goes above the level of the younger kids continue it in private when the little ones are playing or napping.
How we make time for outside activities in Charlotte Mason-style home schooling is by using short lessons. Plus, it's good for even high school aged children to be outside -- it helps with moodiness, etc.
Charlotte Mason wanted the mother/teacher to spend large quantities of time outdoors with the student each day, so short lessons would provide a way to allow time for those outside activities that often get relegated to the back burner.
Without the time or space here to do a great job of explaining this, let me just say that with some morning structure, home schoolers would benefit from cracking down and covering their core subjects like math, history, grammar, foreign language, etc. in the morning in short bursts.
Don't wait for anyone to get in the "mood" to do their algebra, work with their natural tendency toward "habit," and get that stuff done consistently in the morning. Then you have free time for art, field trips, nature walks, music, etc. because your responsibilities are done for the day.
This works in adult life too. If you get your wash done, bills paid, and dog to the vet you can enjoy yourself the rest of the day. Or you could put off the laundry and all that, and try to have a day of goofing off -- but then what happens? That undone stuff hangs over your head. Help the kids learn this real life lesson by reinforcing it daily.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:--Catherine Levison (mother of five and grandmother) is the author of
A Charlotte Mason Education, the sequel
More Charlotte Mason Education, and her newest book,
A Literary Education: An Annotated Book List. All of these books, and Levison's four Charlotte Mason audio workshops, can be found at her
publisher's website (click on the "Homeschooling" link from their homepage).
________________________________
LIVING SCIENCE BOOKS: Reader RecommendationsSubmitted by CM-Monthly subscribers.
Re: "Experimenting with ..."There's a series of books called "Experimenting with ..." by Alan Ward. There's Experimenting with Science about Yourself, Nature, Magnetism, etc. They are full of interesting experiments and lots of hands-on activities and ways to play with science. These have really brought things alive for my children this year.
--Lori
Re: Holling C. Holling booksI would like to contribute to the list any of the Holling C. Holling books:
Pagoo -- story of a hermit crab and the ocean
Minn of the Mississippi -- travels of a snapping turtle from Minnesota to Louisiana
Paddle to the Sea -- the Great Lakes region
Tree in the Trail -- the Santa Fe trail and history of the westward expansion
Seabird -- history of transportation thru the eyes of one family, from whaling ships to airplanes
Book of Indians
Book of Cowboys
--Denise T.
Re: "My Side of the Mountain"In your science "living books"... how about "My Side of the Mountain" (fiction) .. and then I believe there is a sequel to it as well. My eleven-year-old loved reading both of them and there is tons of great information in them about wildlife and biology! Thanks for the list!
--Jennifer M.
Re: Jim Arnosky Our favorite science books are by Jim Arnosky. He has several and they are all wonderful. My children learned to read by reading his picture books ... we learned about animals from his "All About ..." series and the Crinkleroot guides have opened our eyes to our environment. Please go to your library and look for them! :-)
--Kelly F.
Re: Looking for Biology books for high schoolersI often see books recommended for younger children but have a hard time finding something for the high schoolers when it comes to Physical Science and Biology. My daughter is taking a Creation Science course and we've gotten books for that. The only one I have discovered for Biology is "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" -- co-authored by Phillip Yancey. Would it be possible to see some more suggestions?
--Donna P.
________________________________
FIVE TIPS FOR A CONNECTED FAMILY SUMMERCopyright 2002 Mimi Doe
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
SpiritualParenting.comWith summer here, parents scramble to fill their children's wide-open days. Suddenly leisurely visions turn into frenzied schedules with no time for family connection.
Here are my five top tips for creating a connected family summer:
1) The Living is EasyMake plans to downshift your rhythm into a slower pace this summer. Can you work fewer days a week rather than taking one long vacation? When you think of summer what comes to mind? Catching minnows at the local pond? Licking an ice cream cone with your dad? Take time out for activities reminiscent of your childhood and create some new summer rituals with your kids. The child in you will squeal with glee and the child who lives with you will squeal right along.
2) Kitchen MemoriesLet your kids loose in the kitchen to invent their own concoctions. Maybe they could create a portable summer menu using fruit on a stick, sandwiches, crackers and peanut butter -- then pack it all up for an evening picnic dinner. One mother waits all year for summertime cooking with her kids: "My four kids and I plan summer feasts in the cold winter months. We don't go away on a fancy vacation but we pretend we're at the shore with our lobster bakes and in a Parisian cafe sipping iced tea. My kids are young but they know how to peel ginger and giggle over kitchen adventures."
3) Neighborhood GamesSet up a game table on your porch, deck, or under a shady tree -- a simple card table will do. Buy a large plastic, waterproof bin with a snug top to store puzzles, games, and a deck of cards. Maybe your house will be known as the "place to stop for a good game of chess or checkers."
4) Butterfly AdventuresDon't take butterflies for granted -- any creature that smells stuff with their feet is pretty cool. Gardens, meadows, fields, and woods are great places for spotting these beautiful nectar feeders. Is there milkweed growing in a vacant lot near your home? If so, it's a sure bet your kids will find some Monarchs. Read up on butterflies, "North America's Favorite Butterflies" by Patti and Milt Putnam is just the right size for little hands. Bring a sketchpad to draw the varieties you see, mourning cloak, American painted lady, gray hairstreak, great spangled fritillary.
5) Day TrippingSelect a day to visit your town as if for the first time. Forget chores and routines and instead strap the binoculars around your neck and head out to explore. Read some local history; eat lunch in a restaurant you've never tried, ask for directions even if you know where you're going. Take the time to talk to the waitress, speak to the family next to you in the park, and open your awareness to guide you on your explorations.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:--Mimi Doe is the author of the popular book,
Busy but Balanced: Practical and Inspirational Ways to Create a Calmer, Closer Family (St. Martin's Press) and the founder of
SpiritualParenting.com________________________________
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / READERS' TIPS(Please share your helpful tips, homeschooling ideas, or personal thoughts about Charlotte Mason's methods with other CM-Monthly readers. We'd love to hear from you!)
mailto:DSimple@aol.comRe: Family field trip ideaIf you have a local nature center, this can be a wonderful resource! Ours is great to just visit (be sure to know the hours of operation), and they also have a lovely picnic area and a play yard as well. And it is free! But, they also have a schedule of movies, such as those about owls or dinosaurs or other topics, and special theme hikes, such as animal habitats or animal tracks. It's small, but it is totally fun, and the naturalists seem to truly love children and nature -- a wonderful combination! You may have a local nature center and not even be aware of it. When I taught preschool, I would arrange field trips there, and most of the parents would tell me they drove by it all the time and never even knew it was there. Check out your phone book or city website to see if you have a wonderful resource like this in your own town.
--Terry A.
________________________________
FAMILY "TWADDLE-FREE" READING LISTRecommended books for children and families
Go to:
hometown.aol.com/BeeME1/bookstore.html________________________________
Feel free to forward this newsletter to your family and friends. :-)
________________________________
THE EDITOR'S RESOURCES
Frugal Living --
hometown.aol.com/dsimple/Bright-Kids --
hometown.aol.com/brightkidsrus/A Simple Choice: a practical guide for saving your time, money and sanityFrozen Assets: how to cook for a day and eat for a monthFrozen Assets Discussion Group and Archives________________________________
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATIONTo subscribe,
mailto:join-cm-monthly@hub.thedollarstretcher.comPlease feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. This is a private mailing list which isn't sold or shared with anyone else.
________________________________
A special thanks to Larry Wilson, Gary Foreman and The Dollar Stretcher resources for making this mailing list possible!
stretcher.com________________________________
