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The Charlotte Mason Living Room
You probably have questions about who Charlotte Mason is, and
what she did that we think is so great.
FAQ's
About the Charlotte Mason Method
1. Who was Charlotte Mason?
Charlotte Mason was an educator in the late 19th and early
20th centuries. Her education philosophies were second to none, and
although we don't agree with everything she said, we believe that what
she said about educating children had great merit.
2. What is the Charlotte Mason Method?
It is a method of educating children, according to the
principles laid out in Charlotte's books. The method does not use the
standard textbooks that schools and other methods use, but instead uses WHOLE
and LIVING books. LIVING
books are books written by a single
author about a single subject, on which the author is both knowledgeable and
passionate. The facts are presented in story form, and the story is
captivating, full of emotion and well written. WHOLE books are also
living books about a single subject. For instance, a LIVING
history book would be a biography, or a book written during the time period
being studied. A WHOLE book might well be a picture book about
sharks.
Charlotte uses nature study as her main means of teaching
science. Her belief is that all that is necessary for science, can be
learned from nature. Nature supplies the building blocks for great science
studies. Chemistry can be started from a simple discussion on the way a
lightening bug (firefly) works. Physics might be studied from reading a
biography of Sir Isaac Newton. The possibilities are endless! For
more information about NATURE STUDY please look in THE
GARDEN.
All children in Charlotte Mason schools, did music and art
appreciation. Most of the teaching in these lessons can be accomplished by
studies... PICTURE STUDY, ARTIST STUDY, MUSIC STUDY and COMPOSER
STUDY.
How is this accomplished? The picture is placed on the
wall in a prominent position. During a lesson, the child looks intently at the
picture, later describing it without looking. Children are asked to
reproduce the part of the picture they like the most, or find the most
interesting. Biographies of the artist are read, and other works by the
artist are studied throughout the term. Usually, four to six works are
studied in a three month period.
MUSIC is studied in the same way. A piece of
music is played every day during tea-time, or quiet time, or some time during
the day which you have decided upon. Biographies are read of the composer,
and further pieces of music by the same composer are studied over the next few
weeks. Four to six pieces again, may be studied over the three month
period. In addition to COMPOSER STUDY, children are encouraged to
take up a musical instrument and learn to play it. They are also
encouraged to learn hymns and folks songs and sing them. In the
home-school, the working parent (usually Daddy), comes home from work, and is
treated to a singing child, proud of their accomplishment!
All other subjects are studied with the aid of LIVING BOOKS,
including mathematics. Many Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, also choose to
have a math curriculum to follow, preferring those with a "Hands On"
style of teaching. Singapore Math, Saxon Math, Horizons Math, and Miquon
Math are all good choices. Some you will need to purchase extra
"drill" sheets for, others you will have to pare it down a little.
HISTORY is told using the best resources, those that
were there. Biographies, autobiographies and fiction written at the time
(or about the time) are the best resources. The children also make a TIMELINE
or CENTURY BOOK in which they record the important dates in history on
the pertinent page or in the pertinent place.
All subjects are taught in SHORT LESSONS, beginning
with the 10-15 minute lesson for the youngest children, and adding about five
minutes per lesson, per year of age. This is a general rule of thumb you
should adapt to your child's own pace however, since some children may
need longer or shorter lessons. The advantage to the short lesson, is that
if a child finishes the work set for that subject early, the rest of the lesson
is free time, which can be spent accordingly.
SCHOOLROOM PETS were often found in the Charlotte Mason
School, and are definitely recommended. These "pets" can be; Ant
Farms, Tadpoles, Caterpillars... or the usual Hamsters. Children are
encouraged to journal the pets... particularly those like caterpillars and
tadpoles which follow a distinct lifecycle.
NOTEBOOKS are the main means of recording
lessons. Nature Notebooks can indeed be works of art (see the GARDEN
for more information). Other subjects also use notebooks. The best
way to build the notebook, is to use a three ringed binder and paper. Scrap booking
paper is great. The child NARRATES his work, which is cut out
(using scrap booking scissors can really make these exciting) and glued onto the
page. The page is decorated with glitter, stickers, illustrations,
whatever you and your child desire!
NARRATION is the heart of Charlotte Mason
lessons. Young children, unable to write legibly, are asked to
"Narrate" their work, which Mum types or writes down for them.
As they age, longer and longer narrations are expected. With writing
skills improving, the child is asked to copy down part of his narration.
As she increases her ability to write by herself, legibly, she will write down
her own narration. The skills she developed by reciting it aloud, are ably
put to paper.
3. What About Charlotte Mason and the Preschool and
Kindergarten Ages?
Charlotte was not in favour of schooling children officially
before the age of six... her reasons were sound. Indeed the child younger,
often has a short attention span, and is often too wriggly to sit still for very
long. However, many Charlotte Mason enthusiasts have noticed that there
are indeed many of her methods we can already use. Charlotte herself
recommended that children under the age of six, spend as much time outdoors as
possible. In theory, this sounds good, in practice, it is rather harder to
work out. Thos of us with babies, are not particularly in favour of taking
them out in freezing temperatures or hot ones either. The rain in the USA is
considerably heavier than much of the rain in England, and really should only be
experienced in the best of conditions. We can however, make some trade
offs... try sending your child out to play alone (if possible) or sit by a
window where you can watch them. If you garden, let them play while you
work... and if you have a baby, wrap them up very warm in the winter, and sit
them in one of the many portable baby shades in the summer. The mobile
baby is a little harder. Your eight month old will not really want to be
still in a stroller when you go out. For those nature walks over rough
terrain, try using a baby sling or backpack. When gardening, the backpack
may work for a while, as may a blanket on the ground. There are also some
gates that can be used to enclose a space with a blanket on the ground for
protection. Play-pens are not idea for outside, and sand boxes are not
idea for babies, but either can be used in a pinch. For more information
about taking your child outside, see THE GARDEN.
In addition to the outdoors, reading to our children is very
important. Picture books are a great way to train a child to listen.
They can capture the wriggly child's attention while you read, training him in
the HABIT of listening. Habits were a big theme of Charlotte's, and
can be read about in detail in BOOK 1: Home Education of her book
series. We should still be picky about the books read to even the littlest
child, trying not to read what Charlotte termed TWADDLE. Twaddle is
in essence a book that does not read well, has little emotion and that talks down
to the child. We should try to improve their vocabulary and
understanding by talking up to them. In this, even the picture
books should follow the rule of LIVING BOOKS. Reading to your child is
something you should do on a daily basis... even fifteen minutes is better than
nothing. Experience lets us recommend somewhat more than that, and include
FAMILY READ ALOUD to the list as well. Take time in the evenings to
read a chapter from a book the entire family will enjoy. Suggestions
include; A Christmas Carol, The Little House Books, Arthur Ransome's Swallows
and Amazon's series, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, The Lord of the
Rings, The Redwall Series. These may seem a little above your child, but
although they are above their reading level, they are not above their
comprehension level. It doesn't matter much how hard they are to
understand because the idea is promote reading as a family!
Poetry is something else that a child should be exposed to
from an early age, and in addition, readings from the Bible. A Childhood
Bible is good for telling the stories of the Bible, but a child should also hear
from the Original. An older version such as the King James Bible (the
original translation, not the New) or the Douay Rheims Bible (Catholic
translation from the 16th Century, updated in the 18th century) are highly
recommended as introducing our children to archaic language. When a child
is used to hearing this from an early age, he or she is not so scared to tackle
Shakespeare or Chaucer at the appropriate ages. Likewise, poetry read from
an early age to the child, allows the child to feel comfortable with
verse. Memorizing some of these is a great Grandparent pleaser, and the
child feels proud when they have something to show off! Verses from the
Bible should also be memorized.
Art and Music appreciation are just as valuable to the young
child, and all exposure to such is highly recommended and encouraged.
Although the children need not do intensive studies as they will in school, they
should be exposed to a little biographical information in addition to the music
they are hearing.
For further reading, we recommend:
Charlotte Mason
Method:
A Charlotte Mason Companion: Karen Andreola
When Children Love to Learn: edited by Elaine Cooper
A Charlotte Mason Education and More Charlotte Mason
Education: Catherine Levison
The Original Home Education Series: Charlotte Mason
For the Children's Sake: Susan Schaeffer McCauley
Nature Study:
A Pocketful of Pinecones: Karen Andreola
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady: Edith Holden
Audubon Field Guides
Peterson's Field Guides
Peterson's First Field Guides
Peterson's Coloring Field Guides
Classical
Education:
The Well Trained Mind: Jessie Wise and Susan Wise
Bauer
Teaching the Trivium: Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn
General
Education Books:
Educating the Wholehearted Child: Clay and Sally
Clarkson
There is also a wonderful list http://amblesideonline.homestead.com/Pre1.html
of "Attainments for a Child of Six". I highly recommend reading
it.
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