It Feeds

Enjoying some river time ~ and it counts as school!

That's one of the things I love most about a Charlotte Mason education. It feeds me. It feeds my children. There are seasons of life that are more stressful than others, and I've found that I increasingly look forward to the schooling part of the day during those times. The poetry, Bible reading, songs, paintings, history and science and biography readings, even mathematics and copy work all provide calm yet meaningful nourishment for my mind. There is always something that takes my mind off of stressful worries of life and gives me good in its place to contemplate. The quality of the chosen books is probably the part that feeds my mind and soul so well. The books are not dry. They are not merely facts drained of life. They aren't read hurriedly so that the child can spend most of his time writing out answers to the questions that are asked at the end of the chapter. They contain ideas that we discuss which engages my brain as well as the child's. They are books I look forward to reading. I'm just finishing up reading Winnie the Pooh to one child, and I'm chomping at the bit to read it again to the next child, even though he's at least 2 years away from being ready for it. I'm excited to do school with the kids. It fills up my soul. It feeds.

Simple Lessons Work

Harrison making a motorcycle out of a computer part.

Do you like to put together little lessons where everything matches a theme and then use them to teach your kids? As pinterest and copious blogs can attest, many moms and teachers do enjoy this, including myself. At least I enjoyed it at first. I put together these exciting lessons for my toddler/preschooler when I was dipping my toe into homeschooling, and as I wrote them up, I just knew my daughter would delight in them! But, alas, she did not appreciate or notice the theme that was presented. It haphazardly taught ideas and skills. And I did A LOT of tedious prep work that was unnecessary to her learning. Many times I would do most of the work on the art projects because she was not interested or capable. The songs I found were silly and she did not want to sing them. (I sang them by myself.) It wasn't all for waste ~ we spent time together, she loved any cooking projects, and the books I found at the library were worthy reading.  I simply came to realize that:

"Such a doctrine as the Herbartian, that the mind is a receptacle, lays the stress of education, the preparation of food in enticing morsels, duly ordered, upon the teacher. Children taught on this principle are in danger of receiving much teaching but little knowledge; the teacher's axiom being 'what a child learns matters less than how he learns it.'" ~ (CM Vol 6, page 112. emphasis mine.)

When we write lessons that make all the connections for the child, he does not have to do his own work of connecting. We throw the information and theme at him and it easily slides right out of his head. The theme can be entertaining, at least parts of it. But it's more like a meal that we've pre-chewed for the child and then give it back to him expecting him to swallow it without doing any of the work of chewing and ruminating himself. That analogy is a little gross (sorry!) and doesn't quite work because the child would at least be getting some nourishment even while not chewing his own food. If a child's mind does not have to work to gain knowledge, he will not easily remember or internalize the ideas.

The teacher was probably at her best in getting by sheer force much out of little: she was, in fact, acting a part and the children were entertained as at a show, cinema or other; but of one thing we may be sure, an utter distaste, a loathing, on the part of the children ever after, not only for 'Robinson Crusoe' but for every one of the subjects lugged in to illustrate his adventures. We read elsewhere of an apple affording a text for a hundred lessons, including the making of a ladder, (in paper), to gather the apples; but, alas, the eating of the worn-out apple is not suggested.  ~ (CM, Vol 6 page 116)

More learning can take place with less prep work from the teacher if we simply allow the apple to be tasted and appreciated. Exam it when needed ~ there is a place for in-depth study of a text or object ~ but always present the ideas themselves and let the child's mind do the actual work of assimilating. The teacher is there to provide worthy ideas, chiefly by way of good books, answer questions (or put the question back to the child and let him think of possible answers), and prompt discussion and further thought.

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival Feb 19, 2013

Welcome to the festival of ideas surrounding a Charlotte Mason life! Chapter 4 of Volume 6 was the focus of thought, so you'll read some quotes from that chapter interspersed throughout as well as the wonderful posts shared by like-minded friends. Thank you for reading, commenting and sharing in these ideas that inspire our education and life!

Dollie at Teachers of Good Things shares Teaching High School Literature the Charlotte Mason Way. 

Cynthia at Our Journey Westward shares ideas for Homeschool Service Projects.

Authority is Proper 

"Every king and commander, every mother, elder sister, school prefect, every foreman of works and captain of games, finds that within himself which secures faithful obedience, not for the sake of his merits but because authority is proper to his office. Without this principle, society would cease to cohere."

Blossom at North Laurel Home and School gives her thoughts on Proper Use of Authority including rebellion toward schoolwork.

Obedience Delightful and Reposeful 

"No doubt it is pleasing that children should behave naturally, should get up and wander about, should sit still or frolic as they have a mind to, but they too, must 'learn obedience'; and it is no small element in their happiness and ours that obedience is both delightful and reposeful." 

Bobby Jo at Where the Blacktop Ends shows us how she gets her little ones out in the snow to be nature detectives in Winter Tracks.

Megan at The Winding Ascent gives her thoughts on Government through the Desires: Unhealthy Competition and Other Ruinous Things We Learned on the Playground.

Adults are also Under Rule 

"The higher the authority, the greater distinction in obedience, and children are quick to discriminate between the mere will and pleasure of the arbitrary teacher or parent and the chastened authority of him who is himself under rule." (emphasis mine) 

Tammy at Aught-2B-Home in Carolina shares a needed post on Awe called Feeling Pressed for Time. *This post was on-topic for the last CMBC and was unwittingly overlooked by our friendly blog carnival administrator. (But we love and appreciate our Amy at Fisher Academy!)*

Hungry Minds Absorb 

"Hungry minds sit down to such a diet with the charming greediness of little children; they absorb it, assimilate it and grow thereby in a manner astonishing to those accustomed to the dull profitless ruminating so often practised in schools. When the teacher avoids hortatory methods, his scholars change position when they have a mind to; but their mind is commonly to sit still during a lesson time because they are so intent on their work that they have no desire for small divagations;"

Carol at Journey-and-destination gives us her personal Reading Challenge. You'll enjoy her synopsis of each book she's currently reading.

Lynn at How the Sun Rose shares a delightful way that simple math leads to a beautiful design with Skip Counting Number Wheel. 

I Just Like This View of "Too Much Athletics" :-) 

"...athleticism, on the other hand, if unduly pursued, by no means promotes mental activity." 

Nebby at Letters from Nebby shares her thoughts on Authority and Attention.

Many Relations, Large Room 

"...but [children] come into the world with many relations waiting to be established; relations with places far and near, with the wide universe, with the past of history, with the the social economics of the present, with the earth they live on and all its delightful progeny of beast and bird, plant and tree; with the sweet human affinities they entered into at birth; with their own country and other countries, and, above all, with that most sublime of human relationships––their relation to God."  

Jessica at Under the Willow Oak gives a bit of simple but important advice: Begin As You Mean To Go On.

Celeste at Joyous Lessons shares beautiful pictures of her families nature time with Valentines and Vacation.

Generous Curriculum 

"With such a programme before his pupils only the uninstructed teacher will put undue emphasis upon and give undue time to arithmetic and handicrafts, singing, acting, or any of the hundred specifics which are passed off as education in its entirety." 

Brandy at Afterthoughts shares An Antidote for Theological Naïveté which gives much to ponder concerning where our theology comes from.

God is Our Ultimate Authority 

"The conditions are,––the teacher, or other head may not be arbitrary but must act so evidently as one under authority that the children, quick to discern, see that he too must do the things he ought; and therefore that regulations are not made for his convenience. (I am assuming that everyone entrusted with the bringing up of children recognises the supreme Authority to Whom we are subject; without this recognition I do not see how it is possible to establish the nice relation which should exist between teacher and taught.) The other condition is that children should have a fine sense of the freedom which comes of knowledge which they are allowed to appropriate as they choose, freely given with little intervention from the teacher. They do choose and are happy in their work, so there is little opportunity for coercion or for deadening, hortatory talk." 

Dewey's Treehouse gives us Illegal Moves: "If we are in a position of authority and expect obedience from those under us, while still recognizing that this position is not ours because of our personal superiority, then we'll treat those under us, even children, especially children, with the respect due to them as persons." (You'll love the cartoons!)

Angela at Joyous Lessons gives us good advice about Reading for Older Children: "Give them solid lessons in reading, build habits as regards books, and you will have a child who loves to learn, regardless of what life throws their way."

Help Establish Attention by Not Repeating 

"To this end the subject matter should not be repeated. We ourselves do not attend to the matters in our daily paper which we know we shall meet with again in a weekly review, nor to that if there is a monthly review in prospect; these repeated aids result in our being persons of wandering attention and feeble memory. To allow repetition of a lesson is to shift the responsibility for it from the shoulders of the pupil to those of the teacher who says, in effect,––"I'll see that you know it," so his pupils make no effort of attention. Thus the same stale stuff is repeated again and again and the children get bored and restive, ready for pranks by way of a change." 

Barb at Harmony Fine Arts at Home gives a helpful tutorial on using Google Art Project Part 2 Museum View.

Children Truly Can Understand 

"We depreciate children in another way. We are convinced that they cannot understand a literary vocabulary so we explain and paraphrase to our own heart's content but not to theirs. Educated mothers know that their children can read anything and do not offer explanations unless they are asked for them..." 

Silvia at Silvia Cachia shares her view of Problems and Solutions: "When I see my life as a set of problems to which I have yet to find the right solution for it to be perfect, I not only leave God out of it, but I also decline my authorship (submitted to Him), or my responsibility, and I go to others for advice."

Amy at Fisher Academy International shares her Nature Study Monday.... Rocks! and Thoughts on Authority and Docility.

Self Education Regarding Museums and Such (See page 77 to read more of this story)

"It will be noticed that the child is educating herself; her friends merely take her to see the things she knows about and she tells what she has read, a quite different matter from the act of pouring information down the throats of the unhappy children who are taken to visit our national treasure houses." 

Tammy shares her unique perspective on getting kids to find solutions for themselves at Aught 2-B-Home in Carolina with When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Lemon Batteries!

Good Education Gives Many Interests 

"But many of our young men and women go about more seriously maimed than these. They are devoid of intellectual interests, history and poetry are without charm for them, the scientific work of the day is only slightly interesting, their 'job' and the social amenities they can secure are all that their life has for them. The maimed existence in which a man goes on from day to day without either nourishing or using his intellect, is causing anxiety to those interested in education, who know that after religion it is our chief concern, is, indeed, the necessary handmaid of religion." 

Michelle at The Holistic Homeschooler gives thoughts on habit training at 4 Habits to Teach Your Child.

Laura at Windy Hill Home School shares her son's experience with school this year with AO Year 2, Term 2 Review.



The next Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival will be:
March 5 
on the Sacredness of Personality (Ch5)
at Living CM in California
Submit posts to: charlottemasonblogs at gmail dot com.