Learning of Charlotte Mason

For quite some time now I have been slowly reading up on some of Charlotte Mason's education philosophy. I've not done any real indepth study, just spent some free time here and there reading and attempting to understand what I can about her ideas of educating.

I have been intrigued by what I have read. Miss Mason was born in England in 1842 and was an only child. Tragically she became an orphan at the young age of sixteen. It was also at a young age that she decided that education would be the work of her life. She would dedicate the rest of her days to understanding young children, they way they learn, how they excel and how best to asisst parents in educating their children to the best of their abilities.

I'll admit that Miss Mason does seem to have been blessed of the Lord when it comes to understanding these precious little ones. Although she never had any children of her own she was able to pour herself in to her "life's calling" in such a way that she resulted in having an intimate knowledge and understanding of children and learning.

Last week I was able to go to a local homeschool used book sale and picked up a book by Catherine Levison entitled A Charlotte Mason Education: A Home Schooling How-To Manual. I have seen this book around and have wanted to purchase it for quite some time but never did. I am so glad that I didn't because I was able to pick it up at the sale for $2.00!!! I also picked up at that same sale last year a wonderful book by Penny Gardner called Charlotte Mason Study Guide.

Although both about the Charlotte Mason education Mrs. Levison's books seems to be a more practical how-to book. From what I can gather by just flipping through the book it seems like it would help me understand how to teach each subject along the CM lines.

Mrs. Gardner's book however seems to go into more details about the actual reasons behind why Miss Mason taught as she did. She simplifies the philosophy for us more so than the first book.

My plan is to slowly read through the following books:

A Charlotte Mason Education -Catherine Levison
Charlotte Mason Study Guide-Penny Gardner

Why don't I just read the books Miss Mason wrote on her own? Well, I might dip into those since I can print them from the web for free but honestly, being a homeschooling Mommy of 4 little ones my time is very limited . I am also highly distractable so I would either a.) do nothing but read through her works or b.) begin and not ever finish!!

I figure that these smaller books are more practical for me at this point in my life. Although someday I do plan on reading through Miss Mason's own writings I don't forsee that happening anytime soon. So in the meantime I will utilize what managable books I do have to the best of my ability.

I would like to warn you however. This little study of mine is not going to be done as many "CMers" would probably do it or approve of. I am a simple lady. I do not believe that I will be tackling any great philosophical anythings and posting about them here! These will just be my simple thoughts and conclusions. Simply McMama!

What I would like to do is blog once a week about what I've learned from my readings. Maybe I'll give it a cute name like....Miss Mason Monday...or Twaddle-free Tuesday...or...I don't know, it's late! I've got nothing else!

Anyway I would like to welcome anyone else who is interested to join in! If you have access to any of the books please feel free to comment on what you are learning as well. Just leave a comment below and who knows, I may like what you have to say so much that I have you blog on here too!!

I am only going to be sharing what the Lord speaks to me about through these books and I would love to hear how He is working in your lives as you learn to be a better "educator" of your children!

As far as a schedule goes, yeah I'm so relaxed that I hadn't really thought about that yet! (This is going good huh??!) I will probably read just one chapter a week in each book. I will try to work on something and post it here within the next couple of weeks.

My official Miss Mason Monday (just decided to call it that! what a great planner I am! Hope I don't scare any of you away!) will begin on Monday, June 7. Hope to see some of you here!!

Lovin' Learnin'

"Mommy can I get this one?" "Um, no, it's twaddle." "What's twaddle Mommy?" After a few seconds of hurried thought Mom quickly says, "It's junk food for your mind...now here, try this one. This one looks good!" "Well, okay Mommy but I kinda liked the other one."


That conversation has happened to me more times than I can remember while standing in the middle of our public library. Since I began studying the Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling a year and a half ago I have read about "twaddle" type books quite a bit. Although I finally caught the gist of what Ms. Mason meant I had yet to find an article that could make the term "twaddle" crystal clear. I would, in my own feeble way, try to explain to my children what I thought twaddle to be but have never really felt like I truly understood it myself. My children have always responded graciously and accepted my "less twaddly" suggestions but deep down inside I always felt guilty for trying to push on them a term that I had not really grasped myself.



I believe part of why they gave in is because the Lord has always known that I truly desire to expose them to the absolute best that I can find. Whether it be literature or music, activities or food, He knows that I am trying my best to do the best for them-not the most EXPENSIVE just the BEST! There is a big difference between the two but I'll save that for another post! The other reason they have always given in to my suggestion, I believe, is just because they are truly good kids...and again the glory is the Lord's! But anyway, I believe that my days of uncertainty are over because...



...I just came across an article written by Deborah Taylor-Hough at this website that I believe really drives home the definition of twaddle. So if you have been looking into Ms. Mason's approach and have been wondering what books qualify as twaddle, read on!

Since we're currently in the midst of the December holidays, I chatted at length with Catherine Levison (author of "A Charlotte Mason Education" and "More Charlotte Mason Education") and came up with ways to apply the concept of avoiding "twaddle" (or what we might call "dumbed down" literature or activities) in our holiday celebrations, family times and Christmas reading materials.

Defining Twaddle in Literature

First, let's look at the synonyms of twaddle which include: babble, drivel and silly. Ordinarily twaddle refers to literature written down to children. Books written specifically to children are not avoided. A good example would be any of Beatrix Potter's works -- she wrote to children but not down to them. Or the original A.A. Milne "Winnie-the-Pooh" books are another good example of twaddle-free just-for-fun reading material.

Regarding children's literature, look for interesting content and well constructed sentences clothed in literary language. The imagination should be warmed and the book should hold the interest of the child. Life's too short to spend time with books that bore us.

If our children have only been exposed to junk food, they may resist trying nutritious food. If they've been raised on twaddle, they may need to be weaned slowly off of this mental junk food. Ideally, if they were not exposed to twaddly books in the first place, all involved would be way ahead of the game.

It's our opinion that dumbed-down literature is easy to spot. When you're standing in the library and pick up modern-day, elementary-level books, you're apt to see short sentences with very little effort applied to artistically constructing them to please the mind. Almost anyone can write -- but not everyone is gifted in this field. Gifted authors bring images alive with their choice of words. Gifted authors often write classic literature, and classics are an excellent way to spend one's reading time.

Twaddle is easy to come by; the planet is filled with it. People coped with it in previous centuries, and we must cope with it in ours. If anything, literature has deteriorated even further. The best way to handle this excessive quantity of bad books is to stand firm and only spend our money on the best -- even at holiday time.

But what about friends and relatives who unknowingly supply our children with twaddle at gift-giving times?

Try talking to those who are apt to buy gifts for your children and tell them about the direction you're heading with reading material. Some people pick up on things easier than others, therefore, for some folks a simple explanation of the type of literature you want purchased as gifts is all they'll need. If you've started to collect any particular set of children's classics currently in bookstores or catalogues, you could provide Grandma with a list of titles you'd like. Be specific, and offer to help her with the ordering or perhaps even drive her to your favorite bookstore.

Twaddle-Free Holidays

How else can we apply the concept of twaddle to the holiday season as a whole?

Well, I firmly believe that twaddle is in the eye of the beholder. That means that some of the following ideas may appeal to you while others may not meet your expectations. Catherine and I put our heads together and came up with the following ideas -- some of which were shared with us over the years by other people. As always, take what you like and ignore what you don't.

During the holidays, I frequently discover a large number of low-cost entertainment options by reading the "What's Happening" section of our local newspaper. For example, this week I found a listing for a singing group performing traditional Celtic holiday carols at a local church for just a small donation. Many churches and community groups put on low-cost (or free) live performances during the holidays.

Rather than taking the family to a newly released holiday movie, consider spending a few extra dollars and attend a ballet or classical concert instead. Many times attending a concert by a local symphony performing familiar Christmas songs is a very child-friendly introduction to symphonic music for children who haven't previously experienced that type of music. Also, many churches offer sing-a-longs of Handel's Messiah that are open to the general public.

As we all know, holiday music is drastically varied. Perhaps some attention to playing classical music around the house -- while avoiding animated cartoon characters screeching their holiday favorites -- would be more soothing.

Many families, including both Catherine's and mine, buy one new Christmas book a year and have their collection on display. Catherine's favorite is called The Christmas Story featuring the paintings of Gennady Spirin. It's breathtakingly beautiful and priced accordingly -- however Catherine insists it's worth every penny. This is one way to include masterpiece artwork into this season of the year.

It's also time to buy next year's calendar. If you haven't thought of it before, hold out until you find one featuring fine art rather than kittens, horses or cars. Along with being a practical item, the calendars often provide excellent prints to use for art appreciation throughout the year.

While grown children and other relatives visit, provide some old-fashioned fun that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. Charades, sing-a-longs, board games and caroling are easy, affordable and fun. Catherine's family collects Christmas jigsaw puzzles -- which may appear to be a bit twaddly at first glance -- but they truly enjoy spending time together which makes it more than an aimless pursuit. You could also choose puzzles depicting masterpieces or popular works of art.

Many families are constructing their own advent calendars from wood and incorporating photographs and other touches. If everyone participated in a project of this sort, then they can all look forward to getting it out each December.

Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Well, if the snow doesn't come to you then go to the snow. Some folks make an annual trek to the mountains during December in order to be assured of some contact with winter weather.

Obviously, there are countless good ideas that help families enjoy each other. Catherine and I send our absolute best to you this holiday season and may each of you be truly happy.

Deborah Taylor-Hough (free-lance writer and mother of three) is the author of several popular books including an official "Dummies" book on frugal living, and Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month. To subscribe to her free email newsletter, Simple Times, send an email to: subscribe-simple-times@hub.thedollarstretcher.com Visit Debi online and read more articles dealing with simple living, frugality, parenting and much more: http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deborah_Taylor-Hough

Although I am fully aware that I still have some cleaning out of the bookshelves to do all I have to say is "Bring on the questions kids, bring on the questions!!"

Lovin' Learnin'

Nature Study

Once again we took to the outdoors to see what we could see. Last week Big Sister had said that she wanted to learn more about ants so that was our main focus for the day.

Sunday night while I should have been sleeping I got on the net and read the sections from the Handbook of Nature Study Book about ants. You know there's a lot to notice about those tiny things!!!

With my questions in mind I prepared Big Sister for our time. We got a basket and filled it with a magnifying glass, a jar (she wanted to collect some ants to keep), a small shovel, a napkin to cover the jar and a rubber band to close it up with.

She was quite excited to be on this little excursion!! (She is definitely the more adventurous of the bunch!) We marched right over to an ant hill (there's plenty to choose from in our yard!) and began to investigate.

With the information from my previous night's reading in my head I tried my best to answer her questions. After checking out the little creatures with the magnifying glass for a while we decided that it was time to collect some and take them inside. That was interesting!! Both Brother and I got bit a few times!!

With some ants succesfully dumped in our jar we took them inside to watch as we worked on our Nature Journal page. She did a great job!! While working on her page she was eating strawberries and decided that it would be a good idea to share some with her ants. Plop! In they went!

Those poor little ants are still in hiding though! I think that their sudden displacement shook them up quite a bit!

Later this week we are scheduling a nature walk to see what we can hear. Outdoor Challenge #2 is "Using Your Words." Check back later to find out what that means!! Oh! I also plan to try to do something with beans!!

Outdoor Hour #1

After obediently following the lesson from the Handbook of Nature Study blog I felt more prepared than ever to "conduct my first nature study." Sometime after lunch the kids and I took to the outdoors to see what we could see.

If you have read anything about Charlotte Mason and her methods she is very clear in the fact that the parent or teacher should allow the children to direct the lesson. In other words Mom needs not to talk and direct so much but allow the children time to explore and discover on their own and then come to you with their questions.

Well I was excited about trying to do this and I kept repeating to myself, "Let them lead, don't drive this time with them, let them discover." That was very hard because I have a bad habit, I feel, of "thinking" for my kids sometimes.

Anyway things of off to a pretty good start. We took some time to look at some beautiful leaves and plants that we have growing in our lucious backyard. Now I'll have you know that out of the four children we have the oldest is afraid of all things creepy and crawly. She has always been like this. I never knew how to help her so I feel the blame on that one. The problem with this is that she spends a lot of time telling us, "I don't want to be out here, oh! watch out there's a bug!!" etc. This wouldn't bother me so much except for the fact that our little guy seems to adopt some of her fear and apprehension. I don't want them to be afraid of the outdoors by any means and was kind of worried that this would sabatoge the whole experience.

Well as things would go the oldest, while looking intently at some "baby pinecones" stepped in an ant hill and I think the whole neighborhood heard about it!!! She was pretty discouraged and jumpy after that. Then she got hot and wanted to go inside. Instead of getting frustrated I told her that she was welcome to go inside and we would join her when we were done (same thing I told her before we even went outside) but she decline and hung in there for the rest of the time. YAY!!!

We we were able to find some nice leaves and rocks today. That was the extent of our Nature Study! About 15 minutes of analyizing the plants in our yard and looking for the best ones to dry out and keep. Here are some pictures.

Our treasures!!

Her flower...or weed? A nice branch!

Her contribution!!! ;)

Once inside and with all our treasures spread out I asked what they were interested in the most, what they wanted to study about more. Biggest sister said, "Cats!!" and Big sister said, watch for it now, "Ants!!!!" Sisterly love!!!!

I think we did okay! I do feel that we will need to take baby steps so as not to overwhelm the oldest...or frustrate *anyone else*...but today was a good start!!!

Nature Study

As I sit back and think of my childhood I can easily remember spending MANY a day outdoors!! My sisters, cousins and I were always doing something, climbing something, or pulling some "treasure" out of the neighborhood dumpster. (Yeah, gross I know, I'd go nuts if my kids were to do that!!!) Our neighbors would always ask us if our feet were ever touching the ground!! We just did SO much outdoors!! We loved it!! Yet with all of our outdoor time I don't really remember BEING outdoors!

Let me explain!!

I recently realized that you can be outdoors (exist) yet not really BE OUTDOORS (experience)!! Although I spent much of my youth climbing, searching and discovering our neighboorhood I never really climbed, searched or discovered NATURE!! The gigantic eucalyptus tree that we had right outside our door just happened to be there, I never really thought twice about it. I never (or at least don't remember) touching it out of curiostiy, wondering what was under that bark or what else those smelly leaves could do...I found out later that you can use them to make tea!! My aunt did that once when I was older! I was never interested in the "behind the scenes" of it all.
Fast forward to all too many years later and I find myself the homeschooling mother of 4 children. Now I find myself wanting to give to them the best of what the Lord enables me to give! The best of what He, through His divine wisdom and awesome direction, leads me to.

Enter Charlotte Mason.

I've been aware to the Charlotte Mason method for, oh, about a year and a half to 2 years now. I've just kind of "lurked around the corner" at different websites, blogs etc. just trying to take it all in and understand her philosophy. I have found myself falling in love with much of what she believed in and how she taught but none more than her philosophy on Nature Study! This just a snippet of what Charlotte Mason had to say on the subject, "It would be well if all we persons in authority (Moms, Dads etc.)...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 live in. Let them once get touch with Nature (God's wonderful creation) and a habit is formed which will be 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 plant and animal life and to care for none of these things." In my own words, "Shame on us if we do not give the children in our care frequent exposure to the wonderful world God created so as to create a true love and interest in His marvelous handiwork!!"

God gave to Adam and Eve in the very beginning, not a house made of bricks with a nice yard and fence but an expansive GARDEN to be enjoyed and taken care of!!! If that was His original plan then shouldn't we today strive to follow that desire and introduce our children to this masterpiece we call Nature?! Well, the desire of my heart to begin a Nature Study as a part of our lives has been, to say the least, overwhelming!! My only problem in getting started was the HOW and WHAT of it all. Praise the Lord I came across this wonderful website http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/09/where-to-start-with-outdoor-hour.html Barb, the lovely lady who runs the blog, has done a wonderful job of breaking down nature study into small manageable lessons and steps! We have just begun our study this week and I am excited to do it!!!

So follow along with us to find out #1 if I can even do this!! and #2 if this is someplace that the Lord is leading you. Everything that we do and all the things that we introduce our children to come from a desire to show them how awesome and wonderful our God truly is. What better way to show them that then by studying something that only HE can create...Nature!!

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork." Psalm 19:1

Nature Study

As I sit back and think of my childhood I can easily remember spending MANY a day outdoors!! My sisters, cousins and I were always doing something, climbing something, or pulling some "treasure" out of the neighborhood dumpster. (Yeah, gross I know, I'd go nuts if my kids were to do that today!!!) Our neighbors would always ask us if our feet were ever touching the ground!! We just did SO much outdoors!! We loved it!! Yet with all of our outdoor time I don't really remember BEING outdoors! Let me explain!!



I recently realized that you can be outdoors (exist) yet not really BE OUTDOORS!! Although I spent much of my youth climbing, searching and discovering out neighboorhood I never really climbed, searched or discovered NATURE!! The gigantic eucalyptus tree that we had right outside our door just happened to be there, I never really thought twice about it. I never (or at least don't remember) touching it out of curiostiy, wondering what was under that bark or what else those smelly leaves could do...you can make tea out of them!! My aunt did that once! I was never interested in the "behind the scenes" of it all.



Fast forward all too many years and now I find myself the homeschooling mother of 4 children. Now I find myself wanting to give to them the best of what the Lord enables me to give! The best of what He, through His divine wisdom and awesome direction, leads me to.



I've been aware to the Charlotte Mason method for, oh, about a year and a half to 2 years now. I've just kind of "lurked around the corner" at different websites, blogs etc. just trying to take it all in and understand her philosophy.



I have found myself falling in love with much of what she believed in and how she taught but none more than her philosophy on Nature Studies! This just a snippet of what Charlotte Mason had to say on the subject, "It would be well if asll we persons in authority (Moms, Dads etc.)...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 live in. Let them once get touch with Nature (God's wonderful creation) and a habit is formed which will be 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 plant and animal life and to care for none of these things."



In my own words, "Shame on us if we do not give the children in our care frequent exposure in the wonderful world God created so as to create a true love and interest in His marvelous handiwork!!"



God gave Adam and Eve in the very beginning, not a house made of bricks with a nice yard and fence but an expansive GARDEN to be enjoyed and taken care of!!! If that was His original plan then shouldn't we today strive to follow that desire and introduce our children this masterpiece we call Nature?!



Well, the desire of my heart to begin a Nature Study as a part of our lives has been, to say the least, overwhelming!! My only problem in getting started was the HOW and WHAT of it all. Praise the Lord I came across this wonderful website http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/09/where-to-start-with-outdoor-hour.html The lovely lady who runs the blog has done a wonderful job at breaking down nature study into small manageable lessons and steps! We have just begun our study this week and I am excited to do it!!!



So follow along with us to find out 1# if I can even do this!! and 2# if this is someplace that the Lord is leading you.



Everything that we do and all the things that we introduce our children to come from a desire to show them how awesome and wonderful our God truly is. What better way to show them that then by studying something that only HE can create...Nature!!

Nature Study

As I sit back and think of my childhood I can easily remember spending MANY a day outdoors!! My sisters, cousins and I were always doing something, climbing something, or pulling some "treasure" out of the neighborhood dumpster. (Yeah, gross I know, I'd go nuts if my kids were to do that today!!!) Our neighbors would always ask us if our feet were ever touching the ground!! We just did SO much outdoors!! We loved it!! Yet with all of our outdoor time I don't really remember BEING outdoors! Let me explain!!



I recently realized that you can be outdoors (exist) yet not really BE OUTDOORS!! Although I spent much of my youth climbing, searching and discovering out neighboorhood I never really climbed, searched or discovered NATURE!! The gigantic eucalyptus tree that we had right outside our door just happened to be there, I never really thought twice about it. I never (or at least don't remember) touching it out of curiostiy, wondering what was under that bark or what else those smelly leaves could do...you can make tea out of them!! My aunt did that once! I was never interested in the "behind the scenes" of it all.



Fast forward all too many years and now I find myself the homeschooling mother of 4 children. Now I find myself wanting to give to them the best of what the Lord enables me to give! The best of what He, through His divine wisdom and awesome direction, leads me to.



I've been aware to the Charlotte Mason method for, oh, about a year and a half to 2 years now. I've just kind of "lurked around the corner" at different websites, blogs etc. just trying to take it all in and understand her philosophy.



I have found myself falling in love with much of what she believed in and how she taught but none more than her philosophy on Nature Studies! This just a snippet of what Charlotte Mason had to say on the subject, "It would be well if asll we persons in authority (Moms, Dads etc.)...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 live in. Let them once get touch with Nature (God's wonderful creation) and a habit is formed which will be 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 plant and animal life and to care for none of these things."



In my own words, "Shame on us if we do not give the children in our care frequent exposure in the wonderful world God created so as to create a true love and interest in His marvelous handiwork!!"



God gave Adam and Eve in the very beginning, not a house made of bricks with a nice yard and fence but an expansive GARDEN to be enjoyed and taken care of!!! If that was His original plan then shouldn't we today strive to follow that desire and introduce our children this masterpiece we call Nature?!



Well, the desire of my heart to begin a Nature Study as a part of our lives has been, to say the least, overwhelming!! My only problem in getting started was the HOW and WHAT of it all. Praise the Lord I came across this wonderful website http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/09/where-to-start-with-outdoor-hour.html The lovely lady who runs the blog has done a wonderful job at breaking down nature study into small manageable lessons and steps! We have just begun our study this week and I am excited to do it!!!



So follow along with us to find out 1# if I can even do this!! and 2# if this is someplace that the Lord is leading you.



Everything that we do and all the things that we introduce our children to come from a desire to show them how awesome and wonderful our God truly is. What better way to show them that then by studying something that only HE can create...Nature!!