The Power of Habit

Habits are not a new concept and I’m sure that most, if not all, of you who come across my blog know, in some respect, how important good habits are. Good habits lay a foundation for smoother and simpler living.

I have been trying to create habits since I started homeschooling (3 years ago). I’ve succeeded at some and failed at many. I’ve learned a few things about how to succeed more and fail less. Here are a few things you need to know about habits:

1. Habits are important

If we are to teach our children about habits and help them create habits, we need to do it as well. We can even do this along side them. Then, hopefully, when they’re older and running their own homes, they won’t have to struggle like many of us have!

Charlotte Mason says it well in Home Education:

But who is able for these things? Not the child, immature of will, feeble in moral power, unused to the weapons of the spiritual warfare. He depends upon his parents; it rests with them to initiate the thoughts he shall think, the desires he shall cherish, the feelings he shall allow.

In other words, children do not yet have that power of will to motivate them to begin or even keep habits. It is up to us as parents to learn habits ourselves so that we may teach them to our children. They are not aware that distractions are more than just distractions. Satan uses this trickery to draw us away from the things that matter most: our time with God. It always begins there, doesn’t it?

What else can we learn about habits?

2. Habits rule our thoughts and acts

Good or bad, habits rule our thoughts and acts. This is why it is so important to be mindful of what we’re thinking. It’s also important for us to memorize scripture so that God’s Word is ruling our thoughts and thus our acts.

By our very nature, we form habits automatically. Habits of eating regularly, bathing/showering, getting dressed, and doing other things to go about our day. They are habits because we do them everyday.

Probably my best habit is having my coffee in the morning!

Ok, on to number 3:

3. Habits require an act of will

…if we could discover the raison d’etre, [or "reason for being"],  of this enormous force of habit it would be possible to go to work on the laying down of habits with real purpose and method. (~Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, pg.111)

In other words,

If we can discover what makes habit such a powerful force, we will be convinced to seek out and lay down the best tracks of habit. (~Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, pg.111, Modern English Verson)

What do you think it is? What do you think is the “powerful force” that lay down the habits? Are you interested in learning more about habits?

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Teach Your Child to Read–Charlotte Mason Style

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Just Who Was Charlotte Mason?

I have come to find there are groups out there trying to secularize Charlotte Mason and her homeschool method. May I please just give a little insight into this, without sounding harsh.

You cannot secularlize Charlotte Mason. Charlotte Mason was who she was because of her relationship with Jesus. She cannot be separated from that. Her methods were made exsistent because of her leading of the Lord and her transformation by Him. Her books were chosen purposefully to give children character training through the teachings of the Bible and to learn History through the Bible.

Once we dig into the books she has chosen, we come to find the foundation of history rooted in the Bible. Charlotte Mason cannot be separated from Jesus Christ. He made her who she was. To be fond of Charlotte Mason is to get a glimpse of Jesus Himself. He is the reason she became who she was and her methods of educating were so set apart. We cannot use Charlotte Mason’s method if we take out the most important part of her life – otherwise it wouldn’t be Charlotte Mason anymore. <3

 

A Special Tool for Living Books

As I mentioned in my previous Charlotte Mason post, Simply Charlotte Mason has an awesome tool on their site called the “Book Finder“. I highly, HIGHLY recommend this tool when hunting for books. You can browse by subject and grade, as well as search by author or title. It is a time saver and a very important tool in our home school planning. You can also be certain you are searching through some of the best living books out there!

I find it important to become familiar with the titles and authors as much as possible. That way, when I am out garage saleing or at the local library book sale, I can easily spot great deals! Someof these books are real treasures and are either hard to find, or very expensive, as a result.  Some can be found FREE online and portions can be printed as needed.

Be sure to check it out and browse it!

 

Some Charlotte Mason Resources

I have done a lot of research on Charlotte Mason and have found several resources that are excellent. I am so happy to be able to share them with you, because they are too wonderful to just keep to myself!

First, I will share a couple of books that I have found to be a huge help to me, especially to have on my own bookshelf so that I can reference them often, or dig through them almost daily.

The first one is: A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

This book breaks down areas of interest so it makes it very easy to spot specific ideas you want to know about. Like poetry: there is an entire chapter devoted to poetry and the benefits of teaching young children of it’s beauty.

This book takes bits and pieces from Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschooling series, volume 1 titled Home Education, and puts it into digestable fragments for easy reference and understanding. Again, it is an excellent reference when you have questions about how to approach a topic like poetry, or picture study, studying Shakespeare, plus much more.  However, it is not to replace Charlotte Mason’s writings, even as Karen has stated in the Preface of this book.

 

This next book is a real treasure. Especially since Karen Andreola and her husband put together Charlotte Mason Research and Supply. They had a team who tracked down Charlotte Mason’s writings and complied them into this wonderful series: The Original Homeschooling Series, by Charlotte Mason.

I have yet to read through this entire series. I have thumbed through each of these and read portions, but have not had the pleasure of completing them. Currently, I am reading Volume one, Home Education: Training and educating children under nine. I can’t express enough how wonderful this is. It is filled with gold nuggets of educating and child training help. It took a year from being introduced to this series before I was able to buy it, but it is worth every penny! You cannot get any closer to Charlotte’s teachings then this. In addition, this series is available as an e-book FREE.  They even have a more modern translation of it available. I have provided the links below:

The Original Homeschooling Series e-book, original language
The Original Homeschooling Series e-book, modern language
The Original Homeschooling Series e-book, summaries

This brings me to the remainder of the links section.

• Ambleside Online: This is probably the best site I have found thus far on home educating using the Charlotte Mason method. It is packed with wonderful information and is very well organized. I suggest sitting down to browse this site in several different sittings. You simply cannot get through it all at one time. Not only does it offer information and educate you, the parent, on Charlotte Mason and her teachings, it also provides a FREE curriculum. Be sure to read all the details on that first, of course.
• The Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: This is a wonderful way to skip around to other moms’ blogs who use the Charlotte Mason method and get examples of real-life educating, using her method. This link will take you to where there are details about the carnival…when the next one is issued and where it is hosted. It also displays the operator/owner of this carnival: Jamie at Rose Cottage.  If you are interested in being a part of this carnival, simply click the link for the details. Even if you do not have anything to submit, it is a great tour to take for great examples!
• Homeschool Highlights: This site is also hosted by the Andreola’s. It has articles on writing, narration, living books, what to do with preschoolers and more. It also has books produced by Karen, some written by her, some compiled by her (but originally authored by Charlotte Mason). Finally, it has a list of homeschool resources that Karen has reviewed. This is especially helpful when trying to research the best materials for our children and homeschool.
• Simply Charlotte Mason: This is the next best site I have found, very closely following Ambleside Online. It has a wonderful store full of awesome resource, including an e-book called Laying Down the Rails which talks about habit training for parents and children, using Charlotte Mason’s writings. They have also just put out a FREE e-book called Masterly Inactivity which you simply must check out! Another FREE e-book they offer is called Education Is and teaches what Charlotte’s philosophy of education was (or is). One final thing I will mention here, probably my favorite feature of this wonderful site is their bookfinder. What is so wonderful about this tool, is that 1) it is compiled of all the books endorsed by Charlotte Mason as well as some newer living books. What I do, is when I need a resource based on a certain subject or a supplement, I will use the search portion, based on grade and subject, and do a quick search! It’s so easy and such a time-saver! I know that the books that come up are rich and of excellent quality. There is much more in this site then I can list here, so I definately encourage spending some time there, too!

This wraps up the best of my resources thus far. Personally, there is so much information tied into Ambleside Online and Simply Charlotte Mason, that you can find all you need to know, thourougly, with these sites, including The Original Homeschooling series. The people who host these sites are passionate about Charlotte Mason and I believe are the best resouces [that I have come across].

I am going to turn this post into a page on my blog with it’s own link easily accessible from my right sidebar for future reference for anyone who needs it or new visitors looking for anything on Charlotte Mason. I think it’s an excellent resource and don’t want to bury it!

Thanks for stopping in! Visit Kim at Homesteaders Heart for more on Charlotte Mason!

 

Homeschool Day the Charlotte Mason Way

Ok, so I don’t claim to be an expert on Charlotte Mason, or even her methods. But I am learning, and if I’d never knew of her, my days would be rigid and stressful, that I am sure of. I know for a fact this is what God wants for our family and I am so thankful she (Charlotte Mason) gives me permission for short lessons and plenty of play.

However, here is a day in our homeschool. It varies everyday – no day looks the same as another, but we still have some structure. It’s hard to be too predictible with four children, three of them 3 and under. But that’s what makes each day an adventure!

The date: Monday, January 19, 2009
The family: Daddy, Mommy, Gabriella (6), Benjamin (3), Jeremiah (22 months), Elizabeth (6 months)

So the day goes…written as if it’s happening now…

• 6AM: wake up for prayer; I notice the boys are awake in their bedroom (with the gate up), so I go back to bed for 30 minutes (bad mommy)
• 6:30: up to begin day; release boys from their room; hubby make breakfast (my husband rocks!)
• 7:00: get kids dressed and ready for day. Do colors and phonics with boys at the same time
• 7:30: read Bible (one year Bible plan)
• 8:00: baby (Elizabeth) wakes up, change diaper, dress, nurse
• 8:30: tidy living room
• 9:00: nurse; Gabriella’s lessons begin—reading/narration, independant work
• 9:10: phonics game with Benjamin
• 9:40: Jeremiah down for nap; mom eats breakfast
• 10:00 Ben and mom do puzzle, Gabriella works on copy work; mom and Gabriella read Little House on the Prairie
• 10:40: laundry, Lizzie naps, Ben plays Play-Doh, mom joins in
• 11:10: Gabriella joins Ben in Play-Doh, mom does laundry
• 11:30: mom writes blog post, Gabriella does math
• 12pm: make children lunch
• 12:30: nurse Lizzie and browse blogs simultaneously
• 1:00: mom starts her lunch, cleans up kitchen, Benjamin goes down for nap
• 1:30: mom eats lunch; Gabriella takes break -small detour- we look up and talk about Martin Luther King Jr. since it was his holiday and Gabriella asked about it
• 2:00: Gabriella looks through the book on her own; mom works on a bloggy post (draft)
• 2:30: Mom and Gabriella read the Burgess Animal Book for Children

This ends our “school” day (of planned lessons). Free play, reading, role playing, coloring, drawing, puzzles, etc. now fill the afternoon. That afternoon Gabriella decided she wanted to make some bookmarks since all hers were being used in books!

Click Here for our day in a slideshow!

 

Homeschooling with Charlotte Mason

 

Over a year ago, I came across Charlotte Mason, and I seriously couldn’t tell you how I was introduced to her ways of educating. I call it a “God thing”, because I particularly remember Him telling me this is what He wanted me to do. So, I got my hands on some library materials to familiarize myself with this way of learning. I borrowed A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola from the library. Afterwhile, I wanted it again and again for reference, so I bought it. Loved it! Couldn’t put it down! You know what’s even better? The Original Homeschooling series by Charlotte Mason.

What I really like is that it really conforms to the needs of the child, yet still gives them what we know they need as well.  Lessons are short, which I believe helps them retain more. However, flexibility can be made for those children who can work a bit longer and still have a great learning experience.

As I am still learning much about this way of homeschooling, I really believe I have only scratched the surface of what this method is about.

We love the nature studies we do. It’s hard to put a time limit on them, so we don’t. It is my daughter’s favorite “school” thing to do.

I truly love, love, LOVE the idea of using living books as a way of learning, rather then textbooks. Living books are simply a whole book devoted to an area of study. It can be literature, history, biography, historical fiction, etc. They differ from textbooks because textbooks only give bits of information, facts, and usually it’s rather dry reading. With living books, you get an experience and an adventure from the readings. More on this to come later in the week!

With the reading comes the art of narration. Narration is simply the retelling of what was read or heard from a book. Narration comes in several different ways: telling by talking, showing by drawing, or showing and telling through drawing and writing. Children could also act out what they remember or their favorite part. They could create a painting which illustrates how they see something. Narration is fun and it is really neat to see children improve on it (remembering more details) as they continue to learn it. I have found this true with my daughter. At the beginning of this year, she could tell me 2-3 things she rememberd from a chapter, and very broad. Now she can remember those broad 2-3 things, BUT be able to give me much more detail on one or two of them.

There are still several things we have not dug our heels into yet, including poetry, artists and music composers, or handicrafts. I am trying, right now, to kind of get the hang of what we are doing, and what is necessary, before adding anything more. Once I do decide to add more, it will be one thing at a time. This method is so flexible, I could even rotate doing poetry, then an artist or composer, then a handicraft. These don’t have to be done everyday, or even every week!

There are certain things we do to keep to a daily lesson, including reading, copy work, math, character training (through the Bible), journaling. Aside from that, lessons can change daily with grammar, history, nature study, composition, map work, and read alouds.

So, why does this work for us? Well, it is more relaxed because I know that I don’t have to run a rigid schedule of school subjects in order for my children to learn something. Quite the opposite. They actually learn more through experiencing what they read and write. They experience nature by being in it and observing it. They are devouring whole books rather then bits and pieces of facts or information alone. They can explore to their hearts content and not be limited by a curriculum. A curriculum is a fine tool…but I use it as a tool, not strictly. I am not bound by it.

I look forward to future years when we continue to refine Charlotte’s methods in our days.

Please visit Kim at Homesteaders Heart to find more discussions on Charlotte Mason!

Questions? Ask! We’re going to have a Question and Answer post at the end of the week and all questions with their answers will be posted then.

 

As We Resume School…

….some ideas and goals that I want to get recorded keep running through my brain!

There are a few crucial items I would like to implement or keep going in the coming months. They include:

• Weekly Nature Study ~ this is my daughter’s favorite thing to do. She truly enjoys getting into the depths of nature and then journaling about it in her nature journal. One of her favorite things is when I join her in journaling. So I would like to keep this a priority. Somehow I would like to involve my younger children. They may not be able to journal, but they certainly have five sense they can use! We will be using the Handbook of Nature Study by Ann Comstock and the Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton Burgess, while following challenges put out by Barb at www.handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com
• Weekly Sketch ~ Again, Barb at her other blog http://harmonyartmom.blogspot.com/ posts ideas every week for a sketch for homeschooling children to do. The idea is so open-ended, it allows a lot of freedom for children to use their imagination, and put their drawing skills to use. My daughter has a passion for drawing and creating. It’s probably the thing she does the most. I would like to nurture that. 
• Daily Journaling ~ Over at www.letteroftheweek.com they have a whole year of ideas for children 6-8 years old for journaling. We are going to use this as a guide. Journaling will help with spelling, sentence formation, handwriting, comprehension, as well as keep memories. I loved to journal as a child. I believe I began serious journaling in the 5th grade. I would like to offer this art to my children earlier.
• I also need to be more consistent with our read alouds – seriously, sometimes I forget (even though I have it written down!). Also, I need to not be afraid to have Gabriella read on her own if she must.
• Lastly, I would like to set up the schedule to where she is doing a couple of subjects just 2-3 days a week, instead of everyday and I need to pick those particular days and stick with them. So, here are the subjects and days:
  Monday: Geography and History
  Tuesday: Nature Study
  Wednesday: Fine Arts Study (picture or composer)
  Thursday: Nature Study (wrap up for week)
  Friday: Geography

And of course everyday will consist of:
Dictation/copywork, math, grammar, Bible, read-alouds (literature, history, and geography living books), and most likely composition (since there is a process to writing which cannot be completed in one day a week).
In addition, there will be crafts which are chosen by my daughter, only if she wants, and done independantly, except for when I’m needed.

I think writing this all down, and possibly even coming back to it regularly, will help me implement it and remember what it is we’d like to do. My prayer is to be consistent and stick with this, not rigidly, but to benefit my daughter. Of course, if something doesn’t work for whatever reason, we will change it. I would like to put something like this together for my sons, too. That, however, is for another post, and perhaps another day altogether!

Here’s what Charlotte Mason had to say about methods and systems:

Method implies two things–a way to an end, and step-by-step progress in that way. Further, the following of a method implies an idea, a mental image , of the end or object to be arrived at.

System–the observing of rules until the habit of doing certain things, of behaving in certain ways, is confirmed , and, therefore , the art is acquired–is so successful in achieving precise results, that it is no wonder there should be endless attempts to straiten the whole field of education to the limits of a system.

What are your plans for the second half of the school year? Are you revamping anything? Changing curriclums? Doing minor tweeking here and there? Please share about it here or on your blog and let me know so I can come visit you!

Click the button at the top beginning Jan. 6 to visit Our Journey Westward to read more wonderful posts featuring Charlotte Mason methods.