Conference After Thoughts

What a lovely Home Education Conference we enjoyed with this past weekend!  I always enjoy speaking and teaching.  It gives me an opportunity to meet new friends and encourage others in their homeschooling adventure! 

For newbies especially, one tip I try to clearly emphasize is that you can't go learn to 'do this' or 'do that', then begin in the fall with the expectation everything will be just as you planned!  Nothing in life ever works that way! We make our plans, but the Lord directs our steps.  What a relief that it doesn't depend on me to make all the right decisions & do it all perfectly!  Remember friend...

Be patient, learn as you go, check your expectations, and depend on God's unfailing GRACE!

Charlotte Mason Help

Helping other Home Educators and Afterschoolers is something I have done for a long time now.  Everyone has challenges and strengths in different areas and when we discuss and share those ideas, we all are encouraged; We need each other don't we! We support each other in our learning and application of Charlotte Mason principles in our local CM study group if we are fortunate to have that, otherwise we reach out to other like-minded educators and ask questions and discuss ideas and thoughts and compare them with Charlotte Mason's writings and instruction.  There is always more to learn!  I have the privilege of sharing about the Charlotte Mason Education approach through conferences, speaking engagements, workshop sessions, our local CM study group, online Charlotte Mason support groups, and here on my blog, Grace for the Day.

I recently set up a new blog page listing with all the mentoring and consulting help I offer.  I continually meet new friends and Charlotte Mason folks who are looking for support and encouragement.  It seems to be a more frequent request lately and I wanted to share some options with you.  My Charlotte Mason Help page has the details and more about about Personal Consultation options.  Here is the General Consulting information.

Let's connect...

General Consulting:

You can email me with any homeschooling or Charlotte Mason questions at gracefulthought.blog@gmail.com. I would love to help make your adventure a smooth and joyful one.  I try to respond to email questions weekly. All general homeschooling and Charlotte Mason questions and those specific to Ambleside Online or House of Education Online are always Gratis!

My sincere hope is to come alongside and help you apply a Charlotte Mason Education with beauty and grace and encourage you in your CM schooling!

Living Books & Vital Interests

A few months ago I posted a few of my favorite children’s books in response to some young moms requesting ideas for quality literature for their little guys.  I had just given a talk about moms (and children) being whole persons that need vital ideas to think about.  You can find the list of resources and books here: Living Books for Little Ones.  (Below are a few living books for different age levels that cover geography). The topic of quality literature and living books seems to come up often.

I will be giving a couple of workshop sessions next month at the Central Illinois Home Educators Convention.  One is on Great Literature and Living Books: Breathing New Life and Interest Into Any Curriculum.  Though this will not be specifically Charlotte Mason Philosophy, I will be discussing the qualities that distinguish a living book and why and how we can incorporate this approach ‘across the curriculum’. (You CMers will see a lot of familiar methodologies!)

What are living books anyway?  Let’s consider it… 

A CM school day...

A friend of mine facilitates a CM group and gave the description below of what a school day might look like.  Lovely example, so I asked her to share with you.

Possibilities for good or evil

"The consequence of truth is great, therefore the judgment of it must not be negligent" (Whichcote).

1. Children are born persons.
2. They are not born either good or bad, but with possibilities for good and for evil.
3. The principles of authority on the one hand, and of obedience on the other, are natural, necessary and fundamental; 

from "A Short Synopsis" by Charlotte Mason (Vol. 6, p. xxix)

The wording of Principle #2 in Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education can be misinterpreted without a clearer picture of the context.  Here are some thoughts for today...

Sample CM highschool transcript

Dear CM friend,

Really, you can CM through high school and still keep it CM!

It's amazing what the upper years accomplish.  Our goals didn't change, our educational philosophy didn't change, therefore our methods didn't change.  It does look a bit different - just because they are older.  Of course, this covers four years of schooling, and four years of growing!  Here is what it might look like when you put those upper years into a more formal resume - the transcript.  It is a non-traditional format, but all translated to fit the academia mindset :-).  Take a look and feel free to use it as a template for your own student.  We use Ambleside Online as our base curriculum - this is an unofficial transcript based on that.  You can preview it and download it from my website CM Pages by Grace for the day.  We are finishing up this season and look forward to watching how this wonderful Charlotte Mason Education has made a difference for the next stage of life... and on through a lifetime of learning.

downloading the Science Guide files

CM Pages by Grace for the day website

I have found a temporary way to get you those resources under my pages section.  I created a webpage to host the files so you can download them for free.  You can still use the Scribd site if you like and have a premium membership to download the pdf forms.  The website has both .pdf and .doc so you can tweak to add a different book or personalize the schedule how you like (please still leave my copyright footnote though).  Both places allow for previews so you can look it over first!

Calendar of Firsts - A Follow Up

You asked about My Calendar of Firsts book I mentioned in the 'Signs of Spring' post.  Until I was introduced to this one a couple of years ago at the ChildLight Conference, we used a regular wall calendar to jot notes on days - which works great.  I used the Backyard Birds, like the one pictured at right, to record the weather, keep a list of the bird sightings in our yard, and write about happenings in the forest from our walks.

It is a capital plan for the children to keep a calendar––the first oak-leaf, the first tadpole, the first cowslip, the first catkin, the first ripe blackberries, where seen, and when. The next year they will know when and where to look out for their favourites, and will, every year, be in a condition to add new observations (Mason, vol. 1, p. 54)

Picture Study

A narrative remembrance after five years: Eve Anderson's class (and our evolution toward a CM methodology)

This past month we discussed "The Knowledge of Man; Art" from Miss Mason's Towards a Philosophy of Education (vol. 6) in our local CM study group.  As there were several who were new to CM or Picture Study, I gave an integrated narration of sorts - a bit from our own home school experience, a narration of Eve Anderson's class from the Perimeter School DVD, and a fusion of CM's writings and descriptions.  Overall, probably TMI for a brief explanation.  I will give you a more succinct version of "How-To" at the end.

Quote for the Day - Rembrandt

Rembrandt - A Girl at a Window

It is not in a day or a year that Fra Angelico will tell us the beauty of holiness, that Giotto will confide his interpretation of the meaning of life, that Millet will tell us the simplicity and dignity that belong to labour on the soil, that Rembrandt will show us the sweetness of humanity in many a commonplace countenance... (Ourselves, Charlotte Mason)

Quote for the Day - Millet

Jean Francois Millet - The Gleaners

It is not in a day or a year that Fra Angelico will tell us the beauty of holiness, that Giotto will confide his interpretation of the meaning of life, that Millet will tell us the simplicity and dignity that belong to labour on the soil... (Ourselves, Charlotte Mason)

Quote for the Day - Giotto

Giotto - The Last Judgement

It is not in a day or a year that Fra Angelico will tell us the beauty of holiness, that Giotto will confide his interpretation of the meaning of life... (Ourselves, Charlotte Mason)

Quote for the Day - Fra Angelico

Fra Angelico - The Annunciation

It is not in a day or a year that Fra Angelico will tell us the beauty of holiness... (Ourselves, Charlotte Mason)

Scheduling & Organizing for

Steady Days by Jamie C. Martin - Some thoughts & A Review  

Last summer a friend asked about a book that intrigued me with the title - Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional, Professional Motherhood. As motherhood is often brushed aside in our culture these days, the "Professional Motherhood" caught my attention.  Experience has taught me as well that most things that aren't 'intentional' rarely happen in practical life application!  

I was one of those busy moms that everyone marvels at with little guys so close in age  - except those of us who are living it out

Language Arts - Narration Notes

Dear Charlotte Mason friend,
 I thought I might start a series of 'Language Arts'  posts.  It seems that the topic of narration comes around often.  Since it is so integral to a CM philosophy, we will start with a quick overview.  It is always a good reminder to hear the purpose behind the philosophy and check our method to see that it is matching up.  Here are some of my notes from a study group meeting a while back.  
Click on the 'narration' label to read an earlier post on this.

A Cold, Clear Day

A while back I challenged us to get out and take a walk.  I have been out a few times since, though not as much as I'd like and certainly nothing to call consistent.  I promised a follow-up.

A World So Full

Dear CM friend, 

Here is a lovely description of how Nature Study can work in your everyday world of living.  Tammy wrote this article for the Childlight USA webpost: Adopting a Trail. It is doable, and these are common results from only a fall season, a semester.  And really, it's just a walk!  I need to get outside more - my consistency is, well, inconsistent!  I talked about this with my MOPS girls in November.  I think it is time to do something about it.  I'll tell you what happens!

Grace for the day,
Kelli

Beauty Grace and the Scent of a Flower

A Review: “The Weight of Glory”, C.S. Lewis (June 8, 1942) ~ published in Theology, Nov. 1941
Read: "The Weight of Glory"

Application: Living the Christian life in our modern culture – hope abounds…

This is quintessential Lewis. He begins with a casual thought then conversationally brings an idea to clarity and significance. Lewis brings the huge and insightful points right before you then neatly ties the beginning to the end showing how the seemingly insignificant matters after all. I also find it amazing how much Charlotte Mason philosophy parallels are seen here…

Dear Charlotte Mason Friend,

Let's talk about how to begin implementing narration.  It is a foundational principle in a CM education.  I would love to show you what narration is and the “how to” of this gentle style of teaching composition.  Yes, composition - that's what narration is - natural composition. It starts as only oral telling and eventually flows into written narrations.  More on that in another post... for now, begin by recognizing that narration is less about the teacher and more about the student and the process of the mind.  It is not a comprehension test.