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Curricula and Learning Links - Charlotte Mason

Getting Started with Charlotte Mason Homeschooling

Recommended Books

Heart and Mind: What the Bible Says about Learning by Ruth Beechick
A Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levison
More Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levison
Educating the Whole-Hearted Child by Sally Clarkston
For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

Why Try Charlotte Mason's Methods?

Briva: What attracted me to CM was that it seemed to be a gentler way of learning. One big point is using literature that is written by someone with a passion for the subject. Our schedule was modified according to CM's suggestion of completing academics in the morning, before noon, so the kids can enjoy the outdoors (preferably daily) to play, enjoy nature studies, science experiments, music, art and handicraft or hobby. Short lessons are also advocated, for k-2 about 10-15 min lessons, 3-5 about 20 min, middle school 30 min and high school 45. I feel so bad for high school students today on that modified block scheduling that keeps them in a class for 1 1/2 hrs. Another big point is narration as a form of testing. They are read aloud a short snippet from a book and learn to narrate it back or "retell it". They seem to digest information better in smaller increments and have to pay attention to be able to narrate it back.

Getting Started

Briva: What worked for my then 4th grader especially was to have timed short lessons. That's a big Charlotte Mason point. It starts out at ten minutes per lesson, twenty minutes for 4-6th grade, and in middle school years 30 minutes. No more two hours doing a math lesson! It finally clicked and she got her work done in that time slot and we could progress slowly but surely. Another point is using good literature. I've used paragraph samples for grammar, spelling, vocabulary and writing assignments. I also use the recommendations for finishing the academic lessons in the morning. After lunch it's outside to play, hands on science or nature journaling, music and art...the fun stuff. My daughter looked forward to this everyday which encouraged her to do her work.

I recommend Ms. Levison's book, it was the least cost and quickest way to implement CM's ideas into our school. Since then I have invested in a 6-volume series written by Charlotte Mason, I have been picking out helpful hints like what to do about penmanship.

Kelly: I would suggest taking things slowly as far as implementing this style of education. Kind of change as you go and learn! And, we all know that we are always learning! You might even want to just take one subject at a time, getting a feel for how you will now present/teach the subject and letting the student adjust to a different way of doing things too. This of course if you find that the a CM education is a lot different than what you have been doing all along.

Annette: With the Charlotte Mason approach, we love reading all the real literature, literature which has stood the test of time, increases vocabulary, instead of talking down to the child. We also love the telling back (narration) instead of answering all those comprehension questions which just frustrate a struggling reader found in most reading curricula. I love creating lesson plans which fit my children's learning styles, needs, and interests. It make learning so much more enjoyable and they retain so much more!

Luanne: I am considering beginning dictation with my 14 year old who loves history. She struggles understanding and retaining the information. How would I start using the Charlotte Mason method with her?

Sheril: I had my older daughter start with writing it herself, and we worked towards doing it orally.

Lorinda: When I started narration with my boys who were older, I began with oral narration for several reasons. First, it let me know what their thought process was. Second, I could lead them with questions, but only after they had been doing this on their own for several weeks. Third, especially with my youngest who has some mild LD issues, I could have him tape what he said and write it down. This way his slow process of writing didn't get in the way of his thinking. With an older child, such as yours, you could probably move a bit faster toward writing, but I found it very useful to "begin at the beginning."

What changes have you seen since you implemented Charlotte Mason's methods in your homeschool?

Tammy in AL: I was using Switched On Schoolhouse, and I thought that was making my scheduling and schooling fairly simple. However, I found myself having to deal with a lot of "melt downs", adjusting schedules, explaining their explanations, adding and supplementing spelling, and a few other things. So, I spent part of the summer looking closer at CM, read a lot and decided to implement CM with Ambleside On-line.

So far things are much calmer at our house. We are enjoying English and grammar (who would have ever thought THAT would happen). We are enjoying learning basic Latin and Greek root words. We are ready to explore Shakespeare. My hubby is even excited about the note booking. Even though we have to deal with a lot of allergies, we decided to handle nature note booking by using a digital camera. My son just lit up when he was told he could take pictures and write about just about anything he wanted. We have lots of pics now of our dogs, the trees, etc. Really "strange" things have been happening as well. On a Saturday afternoon my son picked up his math book and did a lesson without prompting!!

Briva: I credit finding out about Charlotte Mason's philosophy as saving our homeschool back in '98. I was ready to give up and put my daughter back in school. After reading about CM online, I then read Levison's small book on how to implement it and then I bought the 6-volume series. My daughter went from dreading everything: reading, spelling, history, etc. to enjoying a good book.

Scheduling Your CM Day

Briva: I start out the day with Bible study and devotions. This is my 2nd grader's schedule this year.

I have incorporated some unit studies over the years with much success.

NancyL: We have always tried to get everything done in the AM so that afternoons would be more free time. I think for High School which we are about to begin, we will try to keep to this same method. With only one to teach, I feel like we can cover a lot using our mornings. We will still keep things to no more than 30 minutes of any subject. I am amazed at my son's retention when I don't overload him with one subject for too long! Even though we school year round, we are coming off of a long break due to my health concerns. We may be experimenting a bit with a schedule for a while.

Kathleen M.

Favorite CM Tips

Shelly: Reading aloud. I began reading during lunch to my children many years ago. We have enjoyed so many good books this way.. books they could not read on their own at all. I began reading during lunch to my children many years ago. We have enjoyed so many good books this way.. books they could not read on their own at all. We are just starting to do books on tape. The children don't like this as well as when I read, but I am learning that during car trips when everyone seems cranky, if I pop in a story, they settle down a enjoy it without complaint.

Briva: The two that really changed our homeschool are short lessons and living books. I wasn't sure about them at first but the short lessons really worked. I even bought a timer. Math lessons that took 2 hours getting nowhere, quickly ended up taking 20 minutes and my daughter was finally making progress through the book. I also rid our shelves of twaddle, and silly books, slowing replacing them with books like The Trumpet of the Swan, Heidi, Little House Books, Chronicles of Narnia.

Homeschooling the Special Needs High Schooler the Charlotte Mason Way

Briva: For writing, especially a reluctant writer like my oldest daughter was, I like suggestions made by Ruth Beechick in her You Can Teach Your Child Successfully book. Dr. Beechick has been popping up on the Yahoogroup, BasicallyBeechick from time to time giving personal feedback to tough questions. I believe she has written some articles and may be preparing a book on teaching a special needs child. I'll have to get back with you with details on that.

One thing in her book was that writing should be done daily, ideas were letter writing to family, friends, ordering merchandise by mail, send for pamphlets or other free stuff, write thank you notes - even if you've just visited someone's home, write an elected official, the school board, write to missionaries.

"Sometimes it works to simply tell children that they must turn in to you one piece of writing each day." They can write in a journal. "Writing is thinking..." So they can explain something they have learned in writing, I like to use recipes.

Some prompts that worked with my daughter, write a story about an animal. Make up a story with a surprise ending. Change a story into a play. Elaborate on a proverb or saying. Have then learn to develop an outline.

Dr. Beechick detailed 4 different types of paragraphs, describing, narrating, explaining, and reasoning. She discusses what details should you be looking for in 4th grade work, 5-6th grade work and a middle-schooler 7-8th.

FLDonna: I found that typing works so much better than actually writing. My son will actually type up a storm. Amazing! I just put a few things together on my Printmaster and then have him type his narration in Word Perfect (or any word processor will do). Then I transfer it to the notebook page I made up and there it is, ready to print out.

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