February 2002

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Jumpstart in Charlotte Mason

Atmosphere of the home

Charlotte Mason's 5th principle states that "we are limited to three educational instruments -the atmosphere of the environment, the discipline of habit, and the presentation of living ideas. Therefore 1/3 of a child's education is ATMOSPHERE! Picture your home in your mind. Is it a refuge for your family, do they want to be there? Is it a place of stimulation for thought? Does it provide a safe harbor for communication between family members and encouragement to explore who we are? Are there manners and courtesy given by all? Is it a LOVING environment? Does beauty surround you, ie flowers, classical music, pleasant scents, quiet time, exciting times? I know in our home, we are constantly working on the balance of these things. One day may be just heavenly and the next can seem so out of whack. It may be out of kilter because I have the wrong type of music on, or the children are watching too much tv, or the laundry hasn't been put away so there is no where to sit and enjoy that wonderful read aloud. In the past two years of meetings, we have discovered that Atmosphere of the home affects every area of our lives, especially education. Even if you choose to not follow CM's educational philosophies, I encourage you to embrace her thoughts on atmosphere. You and your family will thrive on it. Atmosphere must start from within your heart. I try to start each day with a heart of gentleness and pray that it spills over into my household. If I begin the morning in the "wrong" way, ie, not follow my routines, my demeanor is less than desirable etc., my children will pick that up immediately! Cindy has often said, "If I were a child, what kind of home would I like to live in?" I think this sums up atmosphere nicely. AGAIN, I can't stress this enough, begin with one item in your home's atmosphere and work only on that. Do not try to change everything at once. It can't be done, I've tried!

Living Books

CM says in principle # 8 Education is a LIFE. She states that the mind feeds on ideas and therefore the child should be provided with a GENEROUS curriculum. The idea behind a living book is this, does it provide the reader with a living idea? Does the reader develop a relationship with the subject matter/author? A living book is usually written by one author who has a passion about a particular subject. It is not written by a committee or textbook company. "All the great ideas that have moved the world" are in books. Don't get between the book and the child. Don't water it down. Let the child's mind deal with the matter as it can. Living books are "Real Books". They are not "dumbed down" to the child. The child who reads real books is going to come away with ideas and learn to think at a higher level. He is going to learn from those who have come before him. CM believed that children have a natural apptitude for literature. They yearn to read interesting and well written books. How to determine if a book is living - 1. Does it promote Noble thoughts? 2. Do the one page test. Open to any page in the book and start reading. Does it grab your interest? Read it aloud to the children and look for signs that it is opening the doors of their minds. Do they want to hear more? 3. It can be fiction, non-fiction, or historical fiction. There are many booklists available to choose good literature from. Ask for suggestions from friends. Check the internet for many book lists. One word of caution, if at first a book does not go over well, put it on the shelf for awhile and try another. Perhaps after a few months or even a year, pull it back out and try again. You will be amazed at what the children like to read after some time of reading living books over twaddle. Personally, my own reading tastes have changed drastically. Books which I never thought I could read, (too far over my head) I can now read easily and more importantly LEARN FROM!! (ie, CM's original writings!!)

Lessons: short and varied, habits

Charlotte believed that 100% of the students attention should be on the task at hand, but for shorter periods of time. She did not believe in busy work, but rather, provided the best in books and materials. Plan short lessons. Start with 10 - 20 mins. If that is too long, start with 3 - 5. It takes time to develop 100% attention to anything! Try doing the most difficult tasks in the earlier part of the day, ie math. Change the subjects out so that after a difficult subject, the student can turn to something lighter such as drawing or a read aloud. The lesson should end BEFORE fatigue and frustration set in. For resistant students, try using a timer. Explain that you need his full attention for the allotted time frame and reward him when he completes the task. Perhaps a few minutes to run outside, or an extra read aloud. If he finishes before the timer goes off, let him have that time for whatever he wishes! This is the beginning of habit training.

Narration

Narration should be our primary learning tool. It can serve as the primary way for you children to aquire knowledge and make it their own. They will build a relationship with it. Narration is the art of telling what you know. Instead of spoonfeeding him facts and testing him on them later, we allow him to share with us what he has learned from his reading or from an experience. It comes from within the child. They are his ideas and we should not stand in the way with excessive lectures and/or explanations. We CAN'T learn FOR the child. We must allow him to do the learning and let it become his own personal possession. Narration can take the place of exams and worksheets. We hear what our child knows and we can converse with him about the subject. Narration requires full attention in order to listen and retell what he has learned. Narrations can be written or oral or both. Instead of a book report, you can ask for a narration. You could type it for a reluctant writer, tape it for him, or just sit back and listen to him. Drawings also count as narrations. How to start? Start small. I like to start with an aesop's fable or bible story. CM doesn't suggest having them narrate until they are around 7 or 8 years old, but more than likely your little one will want to tell daddy or grandparents about the story they read. Don't correct them. Let them share what they've learned. Our favorite time to share is usually over dinner or even in drives in the car. Turn off the radio and listen. This is great for develop OUR attention skills. As the child gets older, usually around 10 or 11 and after they are quite comfortable with narration, they can begin to write them out. This can only begin after they are able to orally narrate well. This step is important because we can not expect a child who is unable to get his thoughts out verbally to be able to express them in written form. Some other forms of narration: video making, plays, puppet shows, singing.

Nature Journaling

Charlotte believed that children should be out of doors more than indoors. I know that it is not possible here in Houston, so it seems, but do try to get outside a lot. The child needs to develop a relationship with the world in which he lives. How do I do this? Go Outside, forget the laundry!

Take a nature walk to the park, or sit in your yard. Watch what is going on around you. Have a backpack with sketchbooks, pencils, field guides, binoculars if you'd like. Start drawing what you see. Be enthusiastic, relax and explore!

Use a camera.

Start a collection, leaf, rock, shell, etc.

Try to get outside everyday, even if just for a few minutes. This is a habit which needs to be developed. Schedule into your day. HAVE FUN! God gave us this beautiful world to enjoy!

Art and Music Study

This is one area that can be brought into the child's world without any lessons or formal lectures.

Picture study

Find 4-6 prints of one artist. Bring one out and let the child examine it. Turn it over, ask him what he remembers. Show it again. Let him hold it and notice things. He can narrate a picture or draw it. We hang ours in a frame for about two weeks, study a bit about the artist, and casually discuss the print/artist. I will switch the prints out after the second week and let the children get to really become familiar with the artist. If you are lucky enough to happen upon an art exhibit with that particular artist, go and see it. The children will love to see the original prints up close and personal.

Other Areas

CM covered many other areas in a child's education. Grammar, composition, poetry, Shakespeare, spelling, history and foreign language are some of them. Charlotte's methods are similar in all areas. Use narration, living books, and put the child directly in touch with ideas and authors. Keep lessons short and provide an encouraging atmosphere. Don't be afraid to try anything. Learn alongside your children.

A word about schedules and curriculums

It is nice to have a schedule to help give you direction throughout your day, just as it is nice to have a curriculum to fill in areas that you may not feel ready to tackle just yet with CM. Try to remember that you are not a SLAVE to your schedule or curriculums. They are there to SERVE YOU! For those just starting out, or for those of us going through bumpy parts, scale back to the basics. Figure out what you must cover each day, for instance, in my home we must always cover Math, Reading, Faith, and Copywork. If I have covered that much in a day, it has been a good day. You can add more in later as you become more comfortable. Add 1 thing in at a time and be sure to allow for down time. Don't overschedule yourselves with outside committments. Allow time for masterly inactivity. Focus on the relationships you and your children are forming with each other and with ideas. Remember who has called you to homeschool and how He fits into your daily lives.

One of my favorite homeschooling quotes is from Debbie Yonan, director of St. Thomas Aquinas Academy, "Homeschool, not very well, and from your knees".

Written by K. Felicidario