One of the most basic elements of a Charlotte Mason learning atmosphere is reading and narration. In its simplest form, reading and narration are reading (either by or to the student) followed by a re-telling in some fashion of what was read. Narration begins with the most basic “tell me what happened in our story” and works its way up through the hierarchy of thought processes until the student is being asked to infer information not directly related in the text, to personalizing the information about a character enough to decide if he/she would be a good friend. Charlotte advocated narrations after every reading. However, how much, how often and in what form your narrations take is entirely up to you.

Traditional narration is either done orally or through writing the narration out in a short paragraph or essay. In my opinion, creating a notebooking page or filling in a lapbook component that asks for information gathered from the text is a modern form of written narration. What narration isn’t is a fill-in-the-blank, workbook type exercise. You aren’t looking for specific information, necessarily. You’re wanting to see how well the child was attending to the reading. It’s not a fact-finding mission, but rather a comprehension exercise. In other words, if you were to read me a short biography of Madame Marie Curie and then ask me to tell you everything I could remember, if I answered that she was a famous scientist born in Poland and worked a great deal with early x-ray equipment, that would be a satisfactory narration. It wouldn’t matter that I couldn’t remember the dates of her birth or death, or the name of her husband, or when she was married, or that she worked mostly in Paris. I had understood and attended to the reading well enough to get the main points. Someone else may have retained the more specific information, but I had told you everything that was relevant to me.

No two listeners or readers will produce identical narrations. No two people hear, understand and process the same information in the same way. Perhaps one is more distracted than the other. Perhaps one is more fixed on certain details than the other. Perhaps one is more familiar with the material or subject of the text, and therefore doesn’t pay as close attention to this particular reading as the other. Narration is better for testing the comprehension of all learning types of students than any other exercise, because it makes allowances for all the different ways in which a person can hear and process information. You can even accommodate active learners with something I call “active narrations.”

Wiggly, giggly little boys and girls, and creative, hands-on older learners, can often become bored and distracted with oral or written narrations. They therefore give less than satisfactory narrations, not because they weren’t listening, but because they aren’t interested in narrating about it. So, ask them to draw you the setting, or what the character looked like. Have them act out a scene. They can record their narrations on video and simulate a television newscast, or on audio to make a radio play or newscast. Narration needn’t be confined to “tell me the story.” It can be as alive as the literature being narrated, and as creative as the children narrating.

Notebooking as narration is an excellent way to create a learning record or portfolio, especially as many Charlotte Mason homeschoolers don’t have nice neat workbooks, worksheets, quizzes, tests and whatnot to compile into a portfolio. Written narrations can also be placed into a notebook, along with drawings, videos, recordings, photos of building block settings, etc. When conducting only oral narrations, the parent-teacher has the option of taking them down as the child narrates, as a secretary would take a dictation. These can be added to the portfolio, either as is, or after being typed and printed. My children and I once created our own illustrated Bible story notebooks. I would read a Bible story, they would narrate. I would write out their narrations on a piece of blank paper. On another piece of blank paper, they would then draw a picture to accompany their narrations. When the two were placed in the notebooks facing one another, we had a two page spread of text and corresponding illustrations. The text and artwork were 100%  theirs. The notebooks we created in that year serve as lovely reminders of that early year of our homeschooling, and as a record of all the Bible stories we learned that year.

This brings me to another point – narration shouldn’t be restricted to merely “literature.” Yes, literature – stories and poems – are perfect for narrating. But so too are science and history, Bible and biographies, even maths – all perfect sources for narrations. Asking a child to tell you how the lungs work after reading about it in a science book, or what sort of shapes were read about in your maths lesson is narration in its simplest, most basic form. Asking a child to tell you about a video or play they watched is also narrating in a less formal setting. Nor does narration have to be something that needs to “wait until  later.” Younger children can benefit from narration just as much, perhaps even more, than older ones.

Narration needn’t be something you fear doing right or wrong. It needn’t be a “big deal.” And it shouldn’t be stressful or forced. When we see or hear or experience something of interest, we naturally want to share. That sharing, either orally or in writing, is narration. You’ve been doing it with your children since they could talk (possibly before) when you’ve asked about their day, their trip to grandma’s, their storybook, their movie or television show. You do it with other adults when you ask to hear about their day, or the latest book they’ve read or movie that they’ve seen. You just didn’t realize it. So, now that you’re familiar with it, even if you’re not a Charlotte Mason homeschooler, perhaps you can put down the comprehension worksheets and put the joy back into reading and sharing what’s been read!

Suzanne Stewart is a professional freelance writer and marketer, and the author of Homeschooling on the Cheap. She has been homeschooling her children since 2002, using mostly Charlotte Mason’s methods and philosophies. She has studied Charlotte’s writings, as well as others’ works on Charlotte and her ways. She lives just the other side of nowhere in rural WV with her 2 children, 2 dogs, 4 cats, a fish and a hamster. When not writing or homeschooling, she enjoys reading, playing flute and bowed psaltery, tramping across the hills and hollows of home, and practicing the arts and sciences of homemaking and motherhood.

There is much talk about the use of real literature – real books – in Charlotte Mason schooling. They are the one thing a Charlotte Mason education can’t do without. They are essential and fundamental. Without living books, there is no Charlotte Mason education.

Living literature consists of reading material that is literary in nature. It does not speak down to the reader, but rather engages and challenges the reader. If it is fiction, it has a plot, characters, dialogue, setting, descriptive passages – in short, it is good, interesting writing. More than that, though, is that it has something to say in telling its story. It is designed to make you think, to create mental images, to engage your mind as you read. Many unfamiliar with Charlotte Mason methods automatically think “classic” literature when one mentions living books. It is true that most classics – Dickens, Austen, Tolkien, Hawthorne, Poe, Scott – meet the criteria for a “living book.” But there are modern children’s authors – Brian Jacques, Avi, Patricia MacClachlan, Jean Fritz, Beverly Cleary and more – whose titles fit the bill just as nicely. There are even literary, living picture books for younger children and early readers. Dr. Seuss, Tomie de Paola, Emily Arnold McCully, Laura Numeroff, and Cynthia Rylant, just to name a few, have all produced picture books and early readers that would easily win a Charlotte Mason seal of approval. Even non-fiction can be living in nature, so long as it isn’t dry, dull, dusty stuff. National Geographic magazine is living non-fiction. So are books by Stephen Ambrose, Jim Arnosky, James Daugherty, the D’Aulaires and David Macauley. Living books bring their subjects to life and breathe life into their stories.

What living books aren’t are dumbed-down, abridged, mindless stories with little-to -o distinguishing features or worthwhile qualities. Charlotte referred to these types of books as “twaddle.” I like to think of them as junk food for the mind. They are fun to read for entertainment purposes, like eating popcorn or ice cream, but they serve as fluffy fillers, not meaty thought-provokers. Some that come to mind are Captain Underpants; books based on movies, video games and television shows; Mo Willems “Pigeon” series; the Magic Tree House books; and graphic novels. There isn’t anything wrong with most of these books, per se. I allow my children to read this type of thing for fun, as I think reading for entertainment ought to be encouraged. But they have little place in our homeschool, as they have little to offer of a substantial nature. I will admit to allowing my son to read several twaddly books for his daily “Literature” (reading with written narrations and creative “book reports”) when he finally “discovered” reading on his own. In that case, the Magic Tree House books were interesting enough to keep his attention, and he gained valuable reading practice and confidence through them, with their fairly easy vocabulary, entertaining stories and writing style. In the case of a new or reluctant reader, therefore, perhaps a little twaddle is necessary to boost confidence and skills. As soon as that has been accomplished, though, away it should go and living books should take its place.

Why are living books so important to a Charlotte Mason education? Well, if you’re going to teach someone using an expert in the field, wouldn’t you want the best possible expert you could find? Likewise, if you are going to base your lessons upon literature, wouldn’t you want to use the best possible books you could lay your hands on? Of course you would! You’d be foolish not to, right? That’s exactly why Charlotte advocates using only good quality, living books for teaching your children. You can’t teach a child to write well from poorly written material. You can’t ask a child to learn the geographical or historical setting of a story if it has inaccuracies, or if it does a poor job of describing its environs. Likewise, talking bunnies dressed in rain bonnets and splashing in puddles aren’t too likely to teach a child about the daily life and habits of a rabbit. (Surprisingly, though Peter Rabbit and his other fashionably dressed friends can have a lot to teach a young child!) Literature-based learning requires quality literature to learn from. It’s as plain and simple as that.

How can you tell if a book is “living” or twaddle? Ask yourself a few questions*:

1.  Does the book have literary value? Is it of a literary nature?
2. Does the book teach, through some means, what is moral, just or true? Do the characters exemplify these traits? Or is it a “no holds barred” “anything goes” atmosphere? (This is where much modern children’s literature and I must part ways.)
3. Does the book encourage to love one another, and to exhibit selflessness? Or does it show conceitedness and selfishness? (This is especially where Harry Potter and I part ways.)
4. Does the book exemplify warmth, tenderness, courage, humor, and other values and characteristics that we desire our children to be exposed to? (If not, why expose them to it?)
5. Does the book nourish the intellect and fire the imagination? (If not, definite twaddle!)
6. Does the book cross age barriers to be potentially enjoyed by all? (Not all books will appeal to all readers/listeners, but if the potential is there, then it is a living book. If you can’t stand to read it or hear it after the age of 3 or 6 or 10, then it’s probably not.)

Resources for living book lists:

• The “free reading” lists for each year of Ambleside Online curriculum
• The literature sections of each year of Mater Amabilis curriculum
• The reading selections for each year of Sonlight curriculum (NOT necessarily the readers, but the literary selections used in the program itself.)
• The Classical Christian Education Support Group’s 1000 Good Books List
• Liz Foss’s Real LearningRead Around the Year booklist

(NOTE: All of the above are Christian in nature, with Mater Amabilis and Liz Foss adding in selections for Catholic readers. Some include selections for younger readers – PreK – K, while others begin with a more traditional Charlotte Mason approach of 1st grade. )

Happy Reading!

Suzanne Stewart is a professional freelance writer and marketer, and the author of Homeschooling on the Cheap. She has been homeschooling her children since 2002, using mostly Charlotte Mason’s methods and philosophies. She has studied Charlotte’s writings, as well as others’ works on Charlotte and her ways. She lives just the other side of nowhere in rural WV with her 2 children, 2 dogs, 4 cats, a fish and a hamster. When not writing or homeschooling, she enjoys reading, playing flute and bowed psaltery, tramping across the hills and hollows of home, and practicing the arts and sciences of homemaking and motherhood.

This article brought to you by: Lisa We’ve been hard at play for the past 9 years homeschooling in the Sunshine State. Our blessings range in age from 13 years to 36 months. Lisa blogs at Homeschool Circus .

Here I sit on the very edge of the next chapter in our homeschool journey.

I can clearly remember a conversation with my husband so many years ago that went something like this:

“Hey Honey, did you see how grounded “so-and-so’s” children are in their faith and how much they love to learn?”

“Yes, I noticed.”

“You know, they’ve been homeschooling and have graduated 2 out of 5 kids already.  The graduated kids are fully functioning adults!”

“That is remarkable!”  ”They certainly aren’t like the neighborhood kids!!”

“Well….I’d like to try homeschooling preschool and kindergarten….How badly could I mess up?”

“There’s NO WAY you could mess up!!”

And so it began….

We flew through “preschool” and finished Kindergarten early.  Now we were faced with a problem.  It was “time” to enroll him for Kindergarten, but he was 1/2 way through his 1st grade curriculum.  Putting him in school at his ‘chronolgical’ grade would leave him bored.  The school wouldn’t consider putting him in school at his ‘ability level’.

So….we continued on.

I had planned on just taking one year at a time and evaluate schooling for the next year – each year.

Somewhere, somehow homeschooling became less about “keeping up with public school” and more about a “lifestyle of learning”.

I’m so grateful for this metamorphosis in thinking because today my highschooler-to-be not only has a strong foundation on Jesus, BUT has a love for learning and a desire for knowledge.  Something I desperately wished I had gotten from my schooling years.

The journey has been worth the hours of preparation, teaching, counseling and skinned knees from much prayer.

Which 10 years later leads us up to this —

Galatians 6:9 – Let us not grow weary in doing good for in due season we will reap a harvest if we do not give up!

Looking for a Bible study to STICK in your children’s minds that utilizes drawing, but without being Rembrandt to lead? Well, STICK around and check out Grapevine studies!

I had the privilege of reviewing The Resurrection with my 8, 10 and 13 year olds.  My younger two love art – but for my oldest,  it’s a spectator sport.  Since he does enjoy reading the Word, he was ‘ok’ with participating with his siblings.

The Resurrection is a multi-level study (for ages 7+) which concentrates on the events from the Last Supper to the Ascension of Jesus Christ.  It begins by teaching a timeline of events where the student (or teacher) reads specific Bible passages and draws “the scene” using stick figures to illustrate what’s just been read.  To further test comprehension, review questions are given at the end of each lesson.  The application of each lesson is left up to the teacher* AND each lesson includes a Bible memory verse.  

(* The Teacher/Parent is also able to explain specific doctrines as they arise within a lesson.)

Included within the Teacher’s Manual is a suggested schedule and step by step instructions on HOW to Teach this study.  The ultimate goal is retention and spiritual impact on young hearts.

We LOVED this study!  It was a lot of fun for me because it removed the stigma of the teacher needing to be ‘perfect’.  I loved that the drawings were so easy to do and it gave us all an enjoyable devotional/study time together.  The kids loved it because not only was it fun and interactive, but they learned key Biblical points without unnecessary stress and busy work.  Even my ‘side-line artist’ was well able to participate AND enjoy it as well.

Check out the Table of Contents and a Sample Lesson for yourself. 

Upon diving into Lesson 1, we revisited the Last Supper with its’ key points of :  The Evil Plan, Passover Preparations, The Last Supper, Jesus Washed Feet, An Example of a Servant, Judas Identified, The Bread, and The Cup.  Each of these sections had at least one corresponding bible verse as well.  After reading the verse, the parent reads the “Discuss” section and then draws the scene (preferably on a white board).  The students then copy the drawing onto their paper.  Each lesson has 8 of these sections PLUS review questions at the end.  Starting in the second lesson, the last three characters of the timeline are reviewed at the beginning of each new lesson.

My children got a charge out of my drawings and I got a charge out of their interpretation of my drawings as it translated to their pages.  It was reassuring to know that eventhough I lack artistic talent, my children were learning these key events around The Last Supper!

I can see this study being used in a co-op setting or in the home.  We used this as our morning devotional time and it was such a fabulous way to start the day!  We also found for us it’s best to break up the work over at least 2 days per lesson.

Whether you are a Bible veteran, or neophyte, I whole heatedly recommend Grapevine Bible Studies for your family!

You can try one of their fabulous Bible Studies for yourself.  From now until April 15th, use Discount Code: Rez12 at the checkout for 20% off any item not already on sale!!

“Progeny Press study guides concentrate on critical thinking, comprehension, literary analysis, and Christian application. Our goal is to teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!”

After purchasing a guide of your choice, plus obtaining the matching book, all your student will need is a good dictionary, thesaurus and Bible.  Supervised access to the Internet may be helpful as well.

We choose Across Five Aprils to review with my 5th and 8th graders for a few reasons.  First, it’s a good story taking place during The Civil War.  Second, I wanted to see if my older student, who previously read the book, would gain new insights into the story.  And third, I wanted to see how well my younger student could handle the study guide.

Each Literature Guide begins with useful sections on:  How to use the guide, Book synopsis, Background on the author and time period and Pre-reading activities.  In our case, it’s suggested that the student research the causes of Civil War with some map work as well.

After first reading Across Five Aprils, we are ready for the Chapter 1-2 work.  Each chapter begins with vocabulary.  BUT, each chapter incorporates a different method such as: Look up and define, fill in the blank, multiple choice, matching…Progeny Press does a nice job of variety!

The remainder of Chapter 1 includes questions on setting and comprehension, similes and idioms plus activities from Dig Deeper and Optional Writing Activities.  

I love how scripture is incorporated as well.  One of the Dig Deeper Questions is:  ”Read Psalm 103:8-10 and Romans 12:19-21.  How do these verses illustrate Matthew Creighton’s response to Mary’s death?”

Chapters 3 & 4 have you doing similar assignments but with variety.  Beginning with some historical research on the Civil War (from a number of choices), the guide jumps back into vocabulary, comprehension questions, literary techniques, Digging Deeper and Optional Writing Assignments.

Again – there’s a lot of variety!  No two sections look the same!

As for my kids – my 8th grader whizzed through it fairly easily on the ‘factual questions’ and found the digging deeper sections more challenging.  For my 5th grader, he was able to handle the study, but at a much slower pace.

I received a literature guide free of charge in exchange for an honest review.