Breathing Life into Learning at Home
Living Ideas and Atmosphere
Outline and Notes
I. Welcome
Thanks, resources, packet
II. Introduction
A. Education is an Atmosphere, Discipline, Life
B. What today’s talk will cover: Atmosphere and Life (Living Ideas)
III. Living Ideas: The Life Breath of an Education
A. What is an idea and just why it is so important?
i. Ideas are the sustenance of education
ii. Ideas are the genesis of all thought
iii. The life of the mind grows on ideas alone
B. Ideas and the REAL goals of education or “Just why are we homeschooling, again?”
i. Begin with the end in mind- future roles of our child
ii. It is about primary 3 things: Relationships, relationships and relationships!
iii. Learning to learn and the self-educated child
C. How living ideas really work in our home and learning
i. Forming a relationship with ideas
ii. Real-life examples of ideas at work and play
iii. The duty of parents (our job)
iv. The duty of children (their job)
IV. Atmosphere of the Home: Setting the Stage for Bountiful Learning
A. Relationships FIRST
B. Creating a living, learning atmosphere
i. The physical atmosphere
1. Bring in beauty
2. Bring in order
3. Reduce static and noise
4. Transform your home into your family’s oasis
5. Enrich your home with living ideas- everywhere!
ii. The emotional atmosphere: compassion-encouragement-interest
1. Keep your emotional tank full
2. Model kindness and respect
3. What’s the Magic Potion?.. dedicate TIME to your children
4. Create an atmosphere that encourages and values learning
1. Be curious
2. Model learning
3. Legitimize their learning and projects
4. Encourage questions
5. Devote time (margin) and energy to chasing rabbit trails
D. Filling Your Home with Living Ideas and Making Connections
i. How to put our children in touch with ideas
i. Through lessons
ii. Through life (Atmosphere and Masterly Inactivity)
1. Mom’s involvement is not optional- and it’s too fun to miss out on
2. How do I know they are learning?
ii. Living Books
i. How will I know a living book?
ii. Build your own library
1. Become a ‘book-hound’
2. Organize yourself
3. Review likely book candidates
4. Slowly buy and build
iii. Make reading a part of your family’s life
1. Model reading
2. Create traditions
3. Have books available everywhere!
4. Read Literature Alive by Cay!
iii. Other Living Idea Resources- (some Charlotte never dreamed of!)
1. Life
2. People
3. Media
4. Nature
5. The World
ii. Strewing ideas everywhere- creating your home’s own learning lifestyle
E. Summary- Enjoy this Lifestyle
i. Know your children, journal, track their growth
ii. Enjoy your second education as your children enjoy their first.
Strewing Living Ideas Throughout Your Home
Enriching the Atmosphere
From the: Charlotte Mason Support Group Meeting
Living Ideas brainstormed by attendees
August 13, 2001
Mushrooms: finding them in the neighborhood and identifying
Rooting avocado seeds and watching and measuring them as they grow
Window Nature Study: from our windows, watching birds, butterflies, hummingbirds and identifying them
Parakeet: brining one into the family, reading and learning about their nature, care and personality
Learning Chinese. Communicating with Chinese people and forming relationships with them
Watching butterflies- life cycle, identifying different types. Attracting them to our yards
New baby in the house!
Nature Walk- for older child, don’t label it such, just go out and explore
Black Beauty (Anna Sewell) The first living book that a new homeschooling family loved!
Solar System- check out books from the library, use a globe and other models
Luna moths- study cycle. Let the moths go back into nature
Virtues
Charlotte’s Web (E.B.White)- spiders, animals, nature
Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain) slavery
Robinson Crusoe- compared to movie “Castaway”
Turtles- observing
Plant flowerbed to attract butterflies
The Secret Garden (esp. good for nature lovers)
Bird watching- has field guides available to identify birds
Thornton Burgess books
Child-made book: Gecky the Gecko
New kitten, dog in home. Learn about and develop friendship. (Something to Do, Something to Love, Something to Think About)
Go to Benihana and watch Japanese cooking. (“Mom, what a great experience!”)
The Lord of the Rings on cassette tape- BBC production
What ever your passion is will rub off on your children
Lamplighter books
Tales of the Kingdom and Tales of the Resistance by Dave and Karen Mains
Minute Boys of Lexington and Minute Boys of Bunker Hill
Watching doodlebugs
Moody Gardens
Hero Study- Helen Keller: book on tape of her life, go to Helen Keller Festival, Miracle Worker Play, learn sign language
Learn about other cultures: China
Dad traveled to Asia- brought children chopsticks and they learned to use
Madeline dolls dressed in different costumes of the world
Language- Sound Beginnings- 6 languages
Slaves- dramatize our chores as compared to the life of a slave…
History of the Alamo- Santa Anna LOPEZ
Thomas Edison childhood
Music in life: Cricket in Times Square (compare to cricket sound to a violin)
Evening at Pops- PBS, Sundays at 4pm
Child-make book: First Tooth (name correct?) The adventures of a first lost tooth complete with author’s bio at the end.
Make up stories with characters from books we have read
Open hospitality in our homes- meet handicap and learn compassion
Breathing Life into your Learning at Home
Living Ideas and Atmosphere
Book Reference
Charlotte Mason Reference Guides
The Original Homeschooling Series Charlotte Mason Charlotte Mason’s own words
The Charlotte Mason Companion Karen Andreola General CM Application- good starter book
For the Children’s Sake Susan Schaeffer Macaulay Lifestyle and overall goals
A Charlotte Mason Education Catherine Levison How to do CM- easy to access- good starter book
More CM Education Catherine Levison More and expanded how to do CM
A Charlotte Mason Study Guide Penny Gardner Excerpts from original series by area with study questions
Literature Alive! Cay Gibson How to expand and enjoy living books in your home www.houseofliterature.com
Through the Years with Charlotte Mason June Butchee www.oocities.org/junebutchee
Real Learning- Education in the Heart Elizabeth Foss Application with many real life excerpts
of the Home www.4reallearning.com
Other Homeschooling and Parenting Books
Dumbing Us Down John Taylor Gatto Well explained case against public schools-by former
award winning teacher
How to Really Love Your Teenager Ross Campbell Great how-to book- applicable to teens,
pre-teens and all relationships
How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Faber and Mazlish Great how-to book on communication
Listen so Kids Will Talk
Siblings Without Rivalry Faber and Mazlish Excellent book on reducing sibling rivalry
Wisdom’s Way of Learning Marylin Howshall Very deep instorpective book on reasons, motives, method of homeschooling
www.homeschooloasis/lol_how_to_obtain_lol_bks.htm
A Mother’s Rule of Life Holly Pierlot Bringing order, peace, spirituality to your home
Living Ideas:
Do you think any of these people had some good ideas?
Famous Homeschoolers
(source: Internet list- not
verified)
Educators
Frank Vandiver (President - Texas A&M)
Fred Terman (President - Stanford)
William Samuel Johnson (President Columbia)
John Witherspoon (President of Princeton)
Generals
Stonewall Jackson
Robert E. Lee
Douglas MacArthur
George Patton
Inventors:
Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison
Cyrus McCormick
Orville Wright & Wilbur Wright
Artists
Claude Monet
Leonardo da Vinci
Jamie Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
John Singleton Copley
Presidents
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Abraham Lincoln
Theordore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Inventors
George Washington Carver
Pierre Curie
Albert Einstein
Booker T. Washington
Blaise Pascal
Statesmen
Konrad Adenauer
Winston Churchill
Benjamin Franklin
Patrick Henry
William Penn
Henry Clay
United States Supreme Court Judges
John Jay
John Marshall
John Rutledge
Composers
Irving Berlin
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Anton Bruckner
Felix Mendelssohn
Francis Poulenc
Writers
Hans Christian
Anderson
Charles Dickens
Brett Harte
Mark Twain
Sean O'Casey
Phillis Wheatley
Mercy Warren
Pearl S. Buck
Agatha Christie
C.S. Lewis
George Bernard Shaw
Religious leaders
Joan of Arc
Brigham Young
John & Charles Wesley
Jonathan Edwards
John Owen
William Cary
Dwight L. Moody
John Newton
Others
Charles Chaplin - Actor
George Rogers Clark - Explorer
Andrew Carnegie - Industrialist
Noel Coward - Playwright
John Burroughs - Naturalist
Bill Ridell - Newspaperman
Will Rogers - Humorist
Albert Schweitzer - Physician
Tamara McKinney - World Cup Skier
Jim Ryan - World Runner
Ansel Adams - Photographer
Charles Louis Montesquieu - philosopher
John Stuart Mill - Economist
John Paul Jones - father of the American Navy
Florence Nightingale - nurse
Clara Barton - started the Red Cross
Abigail Adams - wife of John Adams
Martha Washington - wife of George W.
Constitutional Convention Delegates
George Washington - 1st President of the U.S.
James Madison - 4th President of the U.S.
John Witherspoon - President of Princeton U.
Benjamin Franklin - inventor and statesman
William S. Johnson - President of Columbia C.
George Clymer - U.S. Representative
Charles Pickney III - Governor of S. Carolina
And many more….
Quotations Reference
(All quotations are by Charlotte Mason from the Original Series unless otherwise noted.)
“Who in the world wants to hear actors talk?” H.M Warner , founder of Warner Brothers Movie Studios in 1927
“Everything that can be invented has been invented.” Charles H Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents (1899)
“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM (1943)
“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” Ken Olsen, President Digital Equipment Corporation (1977)
“Do we have to know this for the test?” Millions of kids…
Ideas:
“Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life…The life of the mind grows on ideas.”
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Vol 2 pg. 29
“Now that life, which we call education, receives only one kind of sustenance; it grows upon ideas. Living ideas.” Vol 2 pg 39
“Education is a life; that life is sustained on ideas; ideas are of spiritual origin; and,
'God has made us so'
that we get them chiefly as we convey them to one another. The duty of parents is to sustain a child's inner life with ideas as they sustain his body with food”. Vol 2 pg. 39
“Let information hang upon a principle, be inspired by an idea.” Vol 6 pg 25
“The initial idea begets subsequent ideas; therefore, take care that children get right primary ideas on the great relations and duties of life…The child has affinities with evil as well as with good; therefore, hedge him about from any chance lodgment of evil ideas...Every study, every line of thought, has its 'guiding idea'; therefore, the study of a child makes for living education in proportion as it is quickened by the guiding idea 'which stands at the head.'”
Vol 2 pg 39
“The Life of the Mind grows upon Ideas––Now that life, which we call education, receives only one kind of sustenance; it grows upon ideas. You may go through years of so-called 'education' without getting a single vital idea; and that is why many a well-fed body carries about a feeble, starved intelligence; and no society for the prevention of cruelty to children cries shame on the parents.” Vol 3 pg 80
Stale Information:
“We feed them upon the white ashes out of which the last spark of the fire of original thought has long since died. We give them second-rate story books, with stale phrases, stale situations, shreds of other people's thoughts, stalest of stale sentiments. They complain that they know how the story will end! But that is not all; they know how every dreary page will unwind itself. I saw it stated the other day that children do not care for poetry, that a stirring narrative in verse is much more to their taste.” Vol 3 pg 121
Relationships:
With God:
We have touched upon two groups of these relations––his relations to the universe of matter and to the world of men. To complete his education, I think there is but one more relation to be considered––his relation to Almighty God. How many children are to-day taught to say at their mother's knee, to learn from day to day and from hour to hour, in all its fulness of meaning––'My duty towards God is to believe in Him, to fear Him, and to love Him with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength..Vol 3 pg. 89
With others:
“Perhaps the main part of a child’s education should be concerned with the great human relationships”. Vol 3 pg. 80
With
the world:
But we have not yet done with his relations with mother earth. There are, what I
may call, dynamic relations to be established. He must stand and walk and run
and jump with
ease and grace. He must skate and swim and ride and drive, dance and row and sail a boat. He should be able to make free with his mother earth and to do whatever the principle of gravitation will allow. This is an elemental relationship for the lack of which nothing compensates. Vol 3 pg 79
Real Education:
CM: Perhaps the main part of a child’s education should be concerned with the great human relationships”. Vol 3 pg. 80
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
William Butler Yeats
“Let information hang upon a principle, be inspired by an idea.” Vol 6 pg 25
“.. give your a child a single valuable idea, and you have done more for his education than if you had laid upon his mind the burden of bushels of information; for the child who grows up with a few dominant ideas has his self-education provided for, his career marked out.” Vol 1 pg. 174
“People are naturally divided into those who read and think and those who do not read or think…” Vol 6 pg. 31
“It is the urging of self-education of children..the getting of knowledge and the getting of delight in knowledge are the ends of a child’s education.” Vol 3 pg 242
“Education should be aimed at giving knowledge “touched with emotion”.
Self Education:
“It is the urging of self-education of children..the getting of knowledge and the getting of delight in knowledge are the ends of a child’s education.” Vol 3 pg 242
Science of Relations:
“What is education after all? An answer lies in the phrase- Education is the Science of Relations. I do not use this phrase in the sense that things are related to each other and must be careful to pack the right things in…together they may make a strong clique or “apperception mass’.
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 fullness of living expansion, expression and serviceableness, for each of us, depend upon how far we apprehend these relationships and how m\any of them we lay hold of. ….
Parent’s Duty:
“..in this great work of education parents and teachers are permitted to play only a subordinate part after all. You may bring your horse to the water, but you can't make him drink; and you may present ideas of the fittest to the mind of the child; but you do not know in the least which he will take, and which he will reject..”Vol 2 pg 127
“…first, to put him in the way of forming these relations by presenting the right idea at the right time, and by forming the right habit upon the right idea; and, secondly, by not getting in the way and so preventing the establishment of the very relations we seek to form…
.
…The child who learns his science from a text-book, though he go to Nature for illustrations, and he who gets his information from object-lessons, has no chance of forming relations with things as they are, because his kindly obtrusive teacher makes him believe that to know about things is the same thing as knowing them personally; though every child knows that to know about Prince Edward is by no means the same thing as knowing the boy-prince…
“We study in many ways the art of standing aside.” Vol 3 pg 66
Children’s Duty:
“As we have already urged, there is but one right way, that is, children must do the work for themselves. They must read the given pages and tell what they have read, they must perform, that is, what we may call the act of knowing.” Vol 6 pg 99
Order and Habit:
“The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; while she who lets their habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction with the children. All day she is crying out, 'Do this!' and they do it not; 'Do that!' and they do the other. 'But,' you say, 'if habit is so powerful, whether to hinder or to help the child, it is fatiguing to think of all the habits the poor mother must attend to. Is she never to be at ease with her children?' Vol 1 pg 136
Emotional Atmosphere:
CM: “… the fussy parent, the anxious parent, the parent who explains overmuch, who commands overmuch, who excuses overmuch, who restrains overmuch, who interferes overmuch, even the parent who is with the children overmuch, does away with dignity and simplicity of that relationship which, like all the best and most delicate things in life, suffer by being asserted or defended.” Vol 3 pg. 29
“Emotional stability and self-control do not just happen. You must prepare yourself to cope with emotional strain and frustration. … To maintain a healthy relationship…and keep communication open you need to be in good control of yourself, especially of your anger. “ How to Really Love Your Teenager by Ross Campbell pg 55
“Anger is hard to control if your spiritual life is not sound”. ibid pg 56
“Children are born persons.” Preface to Original Series
“Always remember that persons matter more than things. Don’t say anything that will leave a sting.” CM
“ A student at her college said. “The first thing that struck me as Miss Mason’s marvelous courtesy- she knew only the bare outlines of our previous lives, but she spoke to us all as ‘persons’ and helped us to be dignified by treating us with dignity.”
Charlotte Mason Study Guide, Penny Gardner pg. 2
Lessons:
“The very limitations we see to our own powers in this matter of presenting ideas should make us the more anxiously careful as to the nature of the ideas set before our children. We shall not be content that they learn geography, history, Latin, what not,––we shall ask what salient ideas are presented in each such study, and how will these ideas affect the intellectual and moral development of the child. Vol 2 pg 127
Masterly Inactivity:
“…. I wish to bring before parents and teachers the subject of ‘masterly inactivity’… We try to dominate them too much, even when we fail to govern and are unable to perceive that wise and purposeful letting alone is the best part of education.” Vol 3 pg 27
Living Books:
“If a child’s book is great, it will be interesting to an adult as well.” C. S. Lewis
Strewing Living Ideas Throughout Your Home
Enriching the Atmosphere
Here are some ideas….. you can probably think of lots more!
1. Throw a book on the couch.. for the kids to ‘find’
2. Leave interesting things in strategic places-games, books, crafts…
3. Keep a big bulletin board full of new things- articles, pictures, postcards…
4. Talk about everything- strew thoughts out loud
5. Strew people- invite them over
6. Stock the back seat of the car- a great place to read and think
7. Read the newspaper or periodicals together
8. Order magazine subscriptions- surprise kids or let them choose
9. Send your children mail addressed to them.. with an ‘idea’ inside
10. Go through the mail together (they will learn about credit cards for sure!)
11. Plant reading material in the bathroom- remove everything else
12. Put up marker board in kitchen- quotes, thoughts, trivia, goals…
13. Read aloud randomly or planned- during meals, at bedtime or just when it strikes you…have them read passages to you
14. Go to garage sales, let kids buy a treasure and discuss it
15. Putter around a used book store
16. Rent a bunch of documentary videos and leave around
17. Collect books of lists and quiz each other
18. After listening to your children talk about questions they have or new things they are interested in, check out some library books on just that subject and have them appear at home
Breathing Life into Learning at Home
Living Ideas and Atmosphere
How I Set about Building a Home Library
- from an email sent to Literature Alive Yahoo email list
When I began homeschooling I knew from my reading of Charlotte Mason and Susan Schaeffer Macauley (For the Children’s Sake) and other influential books, that I wanted to build our learning lifestyle on great books. I wanted a wide variety of living books: classics, biographies, fiction, picture books, etc. I knew I could use the library and did, but I also knew I wanted to start building our home shelves for easy and permanent access to many good books.
The first thing I did was try to inform myself about books. I did not read much as a child and did not have lots of titles in my mind- I was starting at square one. I joined some good email lists such as Cmason, then CCM on the YahooGroups and began reading and gleaning, and asking for suggestions by subjects we were interested in. I also began doing searches and collecting book lists. I started a binder and would print out all the good book lists from websites (such as Peanuts and Popcorn, MacBeth's Durham’s site 4Reallearning,1000 Great Books, Sonlight ,etc) and put them in the binder to have at hand. I looked at books about books: Honey for a Child's Heart, Landscapes with Dragons, Let the Author Speak, as well as book lists in other books, such as the Charlotte Mason Companion, etc.
I gave some booklists to my boys and asked them to highlight books they might want to try. I also would highlight the ones I had heard good things about or looked interesting. When we were on a particular subject of study the binder was very helpful, too as many booklists are sorted by area.
The first years especially, I really kept my eye out for books. It became my hobby (obsession?) and was always in the back of my mind. I bought a 5x7 address book with tabs for each letter of the alphabet and in it I began my” Little Black Book of Books”. Every time I heard of a title/author recommended I wrote it down. I would keep the book in my purse to write down more titles and to look for books when out. This way if a new book was ever mentioned or if I found myself at a place with likely books, I had my reference right with me!
I would haunt used book stores (still do) and look in my book to know what to look up. I often took my personal time on weekends or evening with my husband was with the boys, or when they were playing with friends so I could be alone to think. It took me a lot of thought.. to look through a book and see if it was something we would like- I could not do that with a bored 2yo in tow...:o I found that time was very valuable because I got to know the books and authors and was forming my own relationship with the books and beginning to find old friends in books that I found on lists or in stores over and over again. I really began to enjoy the whole process!
I also loved to spend my time at the local Barnes and Noble which has a café inside. I would take my Little Black Book of Books, order a Mocha Latte and sit and peruse all the classics and other neat books I could find. I would sit in the café and read and look and take notes. A busy mom’s dream! The books were brand new and shiny and I could read at ease. I would decide pro or con and either buy them there (with my 20% teacher discount and no shipping) or plan to buy them elsewhere used if I felt I would be able to find them at a better price. I have fond memories of my ‘Mother Culture” time there. When the boys got older, they would join me and would search for their books while I searched for mine. We would often spend lazy afternoons at ‘our’ Barnes and Noble- great memories.
Barnes and Noble is also very good about ordering in almost any book I can imagine. If I called in, they will look it up, tell me if it is in stock and if not will order it from the warehouse or publisher. They will hold it and I can go in and look at it at my leisure. If I decide against it for any reason, they cheerfully just put it on their shelves to sell to others. This has been an awesome way to check out books at leisure before buying. They also have a very easy return policy and a few times I have taken a book home for a few days to have a good long look before deciding and possibly returning.
Our library also has on-line access so I can order many books there and check them out before buying. I can search all our Harris County branches and they will bring it to my local branch and hold it for me.
On line at www.amazon.com is a good place to look at books, too as you can often peak inside and get a good feel for the book by reading a few sample pages.
When the kids were little my focus was picture books. I made myself find a place for them to be so I could go alone to the library and think peruse and stock up on dozens of books per trip. Doing so is nearly impossible with a toddler in tow! Back then I gave myself the gift of weekly trips to bring home good books. At one time in Ohio we had 100 books checked out at once (no limit at the Centerville, Ohio library!) We went through picture books like crazy, but I checked every one for content by skimming the pages. We had a bad experience with a picture book that had inappropriate pictures. It doesn't take long to do a quick read through of a picture book.. so I always did. For picture books, I mostly checked out just want looked interesting, though I did look for special books I found on lists, too. I have always been blessed with libraries with a large selection of picture books from which to choose.
After a few years of “book-hounding” the same titles came up over and over... the cream rises.. and soon I didn't need my little black book with me all the time - I recognized many titles and would spot familiar ones on sale. I was building a knowledge base and relationship with the books.
After I became familiar with the books I would decide if it was something I wanted on my home library shelf or not. I consider the public library *my extended library*.. always there if I need a book within a few days.... but there are certain books I want at home on my shelf ready for the ready reader- ready for that ‘magic moment’ one of my sons is ready to launch into something new.
I want a good supply of reference books- trail guides, history, lists (which are great books and conversations starters!), books of ideas. Many of these I would find at used book stores and I gave them to the boys for birthdays and Christmas. I consider these to be some of the most important books to have around. for creating the atmosphere I wanted and available to peruse at any time.
As I became more familiar with titles, I began to build my fiction library, mostly with classics. Classics come for all ages.. and I use that term for any well-written book. I usually found these out from my book lists, or got favorites I kept hearing about on lists or other recommendations. I collected many of these from our local Scholastic book warehouse semi-annual sales or from used book stores. I just bought Joan of Arc by Mark Twain and about a dozen other classics last week from BookLand used bookstore. (For those of you who live locally, it is at Steubner Airline Road and Louetta Road in Spring)
If we get a book from the library and the kids really like it, I may get a copy of that too, for our shelves. That was the case with 101 Dalmations, and the boys have read it over and over.. always there to re-read when they are in the mood...
Oh, now my latest "me-time" is to hit the garage sales early Sat morning. That is the day my husband makes pancakes for the boys so I have all morning to myself. I have picked up What Ever Happened to Penny Candy for a quarter and 3 brand new Redwall series books for a dollar!
I think the key to building a home library on the cheap is to somehow know what you are looking for (my Little Black Book of Books was my big help!) and always keep your eyes open for the bargains.
It is an ongoing project and lots of fun... and the Internet has really educated me - through e-lists and websites... of good books.
Hope this helps..
Cindy