We do use some classical method curriculum and ideas, but we lean more of being a CM style home school.
One of the aspects I love most about Charlotte Mason is her use in living books. These are mostly books written by a single author writing about their favorite subject. It's their passion and you can tell by their writing. It makes a book come to life and has so much depth. These take the place of text books.
When you read a book to the children they are to narrate back to you what they got out of the passage, paragraph, page, or chapter (depending on age). This takes place of tests or question and answer worksheets. They eventually can write their narrations on their own.
The other thing I love so much about CM is the short lessons. For young children the lessons are no longer than about 20 minutes each subject. This keeps their attention and discourages dawdling. It allows the child to concentrate and get the most out of each lesson.
I also love her standards for each day. There are 3 things she thinks a child needs each day:
1) Someone or something to love: siblings, parents, pets. Something to care for.
2) Something to do. Something meaningful and worthwhile. Examples would include, caring for gardens
writing a letter, teaching a sibling something, building a castle, or sewing. I like to think of it as a project
that needs attention daily until finished.
3) Something to think about. Enjoying ideas and thoughts of others, maybe a parent's ideas or a sibling.
An author's ideas. Something beautiful to look at and think about. Pictures that tell a story or the beauty in
nature. So much to think about! I mentioned yesterday that we put a Van Gogh picture on our shelves for
the boys to look at and think about. I like to switch those up as I can.
I'll be posting more about how we implement CM in our day soon.
I love all of these videos my friend told me about. It really gives you CM ideas to think about and use:
Ambleside Schools
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2 comments:
My homeschool mentor does CM based homeschooling. I am a former teacher, so it is going to take me awhile to move away from my traditional schooling ideals. I really am intrigued by CM, though. Can't wait to hear more!
Hello! I'm here :)
Loved this post, Jeana. It's so good of you to describe her methods because when I was a newbie home-educator, I could not figure out all this living book stuff. Now I love it. It's great to read a little synopsis again to remind me of my goals.
Hope your summer is going well!
Isn't it FLYING by?
Love, Heather
p.s. love the pic of you on your header.
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