Miller Academy of Academic Excellence

How do I know when my child is ready to read?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:01:00 -0700

A very long time ago I entered kindergarten as a four year old who would turn five that October. In hindsight, which is always 20/20, I was far too young and not ready on many levels. I was very immature and was not developmentally ready. My mom worried too, but they assured her that there was a reading readiness class between kindergarten and first grade if I needed it. The consequences of beginning school too soon negatively impacted the rest of my school education.

I have vivid memories of kindergarten. There were centers set up around the room we could rotate through. I remember playing house in the kitchen and the big cardboard blocks the boys liked to build with. There were puzzles, the memory game and lacing cards. I remember playing with clay and cutting with safety scissors with rounded tips. We had story time and singing and dancing. Every day we played outside on the playground quite a bit and took naps, even in my half day class. We were taught the alphabet and to count to twenty, but the one thing we never were taught was how to read.

All those years ago in the early 1070's, the teachers knew something that we have forgotten today. They knew that children needed to be ready to learn to read and there were physiological signs that indicated readiness. Reading was never taught in kindergarten or earlier because the majority of children are not physiologically ready to read until, at the very least, age six and for some children it is later. My kindergarten and first grade classrooms had balance beams in them. Why? Because children who are ready to read can walk on a balance beam without falling off. I remember my first grade teacher requiring her students to skip and jump rope. She was looking for the students to be able to skip with opposite hands and feet extended with smooth, flowing movements. Today we know from modern neurological research that reading requires both hemispheres, the right for the spatial sight words and the left for phonetic decoding. The Corpus Callosum, the neurological bridge between the two hemispheres that allows bilateral movement, is not developed enough for reading and writing until around age six or seven. In some children it doesn’t develop until age ten or eleven.

Teaching a child to read before the bilateral pathways have developed can cause lifelong reading disabilities. Remember that reading is a bilateral activity for the brain. If the Corpus Callosum is not developed enough then signals cannot travel between the two hemispheres and only one side, the right side which is responsible for sight words, must do all the work of reading. The majority of reading must be done by decoding, but cannot be accessed. For some children who have been trained to read this way, they will continue to access the right hemisphere only when the Corpus Callosum eventually develops. Math as well requires both hemispheres which may be why so many children struggle with it in the early years.

It is the gross motor movements of the body that develop the neural pathways necessary for reading, writing and spelling. Think about the untold hours children before the age of six spend sitting in front of a screen. Their bodies and minds are disengaged from the real growth their neurology and body needs. Provide your child with plenty of outdoor time running, jumping, spinning, climbing, swinging, riding a bike, throwing a ball, etc. Your child needs hours and hours of gross motor movement every single day.

There are signs you can look for that will indicate that your child is ready for formal education, and more specifically, to read and write. Can your child skip, jump rope with an added hop between jumps, walk on a balance beam or log without falling off, ride a bike or stand on one foot with arms out to the sides with eyes closed for a prolonged amount of time? These are all indicators of the integration of the bilateral pathways.

What if your child is not ready by age 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 years old? What if they are 10 or 11 years old and still cannot read? Do not panic! For these children it is perfectly NORMAL and something that should not concern you. Your child will learn to read when the neural pathways develop. You will need to read all of your children’s school books to them during this time and hold off on writing. If you have a positive attitude of acceptance, your child will not think it abnormal and feel like a failure. Do not attempt to teach them to read until they show the physiological signs that there is bilateral integration. In the meantime, offer your child plenty of time each day for gross motor activities. Bilateral activities like Taekwondo, Bal-A-Vis-X, basketball, soccer, etc. will all help. The good news is that the late bloomers will catch up with their peers very quickly. For some children it will only take a matter of months.

If your child shows the physiological signs of reading readiness and they are still unable to learn to read, then there may be a reading disability that needs further investigation, but I suspect that there will be very few of those indeed. It is this teacher’s opinion that early reading education before a child is ready, has caused the majority of the learning disabilities we see today.

If you would like to learn more about this topic go to the website below. It is written by a Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrician who has been working in the field for 27 years and contains an abundance of helpful information.

http://www.youandyourchildshealth.org/youandyourchildshealth/articles/teaching%20our%20children.html

Free Charlotte Mason Seminar

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 19:57:00 -0800

My Charlotte Mason support group is putting on this free seminar. Seating is limited so RSVP at the email address in the flyer above to ensure your seat. I hope you can make it.

Delight in Handicrafts

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 7 Jan 2015 10:29:00 -0800

“The points to be borne in mind in children's handicrafts are: (a) that they should not be employed in making futilities such as pea and stick work, paper mats, and the like; (b) that they should be taught slowly and carefully what they are to do; (c) that slipshod work should not be allowed; (d) and that, therefore, the children's work should be kept well within their compass.” Charlotte Mason

Last summer I was looking for a handicraft that I could do to occupy my hands in my quiet times. I had an idea what I wanted to do and found these delightful, felt bird patterns that you can download for free.

“What a good Christmas gift these would make,” I thought to myself. “Wouldn't my Christmas tree look pretty with all the birds I see around my house all year, hanging from its branches?” In the evenings I began to sit down with my patterns and felt, sewing these pretty birdies for friends, family, and myself.

On the second evening my son asked if he could have a piece of felt to make a toy mouse for his kitten, Whiskers. Without any pattern and very little help from me, he produced his first cat toy. She loves her toy mouse!

Just seeing me work with my hands inspired his desire to do the same. Often, introducing a handicraft is as natural and effortless as modeling the behavior. I enjoyed thinking about the person I was making the gift for as I worked on it and so did my boy.

Later, I found a pattern for these adorable, lavender, strawberry sachets. I bought dried lavender to fill them with, so every time I sat down to sew, the lavender scent wafted around me, increasing my sense of peace and well being. They were a quick project that I could complete in one or two sittings. You can leave them next to your bed for a restful sleep or put them in your drawers when they are finished.

In the past we have done many different handicrafts. It has been challenging finding ones that interested my boy who has always resisted crafty projects. Here is a list of some of the things we have done in the past.

Learn to sew a button
Take apart old appliances to see how they are put together
Soap and wood carving
Whittling
Sewing a pouch and bean bag
Leather work
Weaving on a loom
Making a bench, birdhouse, and ramp for toy cars from wood
Collecting seeds from produce, making and decorating seed packets, painting paint sticks as garden markers to go with the seeds for a gift
Learning to knit
Learning electric circuitry with Snap Circuits and creating many projects
Creating video movies and stop action films

The key to handicrafts is that they should be useful skills that will bless others and yourself through life. You never know when a handicraft could become a business. My sister sells her handcrafted Mason jars and has a very successful growing business, Kelly's Creative Outlet. You can see what she has to offer on Etsy!

The Nature Notebook, A Treasury of Memories

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 17:03:00 -0800

"As soon as he is able to keep it himself, a nature-diary is a source of delight to a child. Every day's walk gives him something to enter: three squirrels in a larch tree, a jay flying across such a field, a caterpillar climbing up a nettle, a snail eating a cabbage leaf, a spider dropping suddenly to the ground, where he found ground ivy, how it was growing and what plants were growing with it, how bindweed or ivy manages to climb. Innumerable matters to record occur to the intelligent child."

The plants and trees have gone to sleep for the winter, but there was still such beauty to see on our nature walk. A Hawthorn tree devoid of leaves revealed its long sharp thorns and bright red berries hanging from every branch. It brought our minds to the crown of thorns our Savior wore as he hung on the cross and the berries a reminder of the blood shed for the sins of the world. We were enchanted by the Spanish moss hanging from the leafless branches on a Live Oak tree. On closer inspection we found Oakmoss lichen with its stringy hairs and blue green flakes covering many of the branches. It was delightful sharing this nature study with friends as we explored the river under the bridge. We brought home a specimen, a piece of a branch from the Live Oak tree and plenty of memories of all we did and saw together.

On another day we pulled out our nature notebooks from the bookcase with all of our paints and brushes to record our nature walk. Our jeweler's loupe allows us to see our specimen magnified 5x's. I referred to my Handbook of Nature Study (HONS) by Anna Comstock to see what I could find about Spanish Moss, Lichen, and Hawthorn trees. It is a wonderful source of information, but on occasion our Texas flora and fauna are not found within its pages, so I go to the internet where I am able to identify our specimens. Did you know that Spanish moss is not a moss or a lichen? It gets all of its nutrients from sun and rainwater. On occasion a poem can be found in HONS relating to what we are studying and if we feel so inclined, add it to our nature notebook entry, but mostly it is a treasure of our memories and observations in nature.

I have chosen high quality spiral bound nature notebooks for us with heavy watercolor paper as most of our entries are painted with our paints. Watercolor color paper seems to take the color very well allowing the colors to stand out without bleeding through to the other side of the page. You are creating a keepsake to last a lifetime so quality is important. We have used colored pencils, sketching pencils, watercolor crayons, and markers, but we continue to come back to the watercolor paints. Why? Because it allows you to take the time to really see your specimen. You touch it with your eyes and mind in order to see every nuance of shape and hue. You begin to know what you are painting in a way that is unique to any other observation.

The classic eight color Prang semi-moist watercolor set in the white box has been a perennial favorite and has produced beautiful colors in the paintings. This year my sister gave me the Sakura Koi assorted water colors field sketch set for my birthday, which I have really enjoyed. The variation in colors has allowed me a wider range to better capture the colors in nature. It is important to have a variety of brush sizes, especially very fine tipped brushes, in order to paint fine detail. Lately, we have experimented with aqua brushes that have the water in the handle. My boy used one in the picture above, but it was harder for him to control the amount of water. What often results from excess water is a very washed out picture with little detail. Below, I used conventional brushes, blending the colors in the pallet, and was able to paint a much more detailed picture.

Each year marches on with rapidly increasing speed, but these precious moments shared in the exploration and observation of God's beautiful creation with each other, will remain in your nature notebooks, captured and preserved.

The Privilege of Homeschooling the Charlotte Mason Way

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 1 Sep 2014 16:29:00 -0700

As a homeschool educator I have the privilege to witness things that most parents miss with their children at school and I am very grateful for the opportunity. This week was our first week back after summer break and I would like to share some observations from our week.

When we listened to Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, Firebird, and he listened to the story, I saw my son’s imagination take flight as he played out parts of the story and then he created a new story.

Dull textbooks, busy work, or worksheets have no part in my child’s education. Instead he is presented with a wide variety of living books with vital ideas written by authors who are passionate about their subjects. His science book is Fabre’s Storybook of Science. This week’s readings sparked an intense interest in pearls and the ocean. He was fascinated by mollusks, the slimy creature in its shell that would form a protective crystalline coating, nacre, around an irritant and the pearl divers that risked their lives in the days of old, to get them. We watched a video I found on YouTube about the unique and rare Sea of Cortez pearls and were mesmerized by the beautiful array of colors in pink, blue, purple, green, silver and black. I pulled out my big bag of shells and we looked at the different shades of mother of pearl and sorted them by their attributes. It created a desire in him to see the ocean and feel the sand under his feet as he searches out shells. Yes, there will be a trip to the shore in the near future.

Then nature study happened quite by surprise, while walking home from the neighbor’s house, he found a toad and captured it. What a joy to observe his desire to care for the toad properly so that he may observe it. He got out his book, Pets in a Jar, by Seymour Simon to learn about what it ate and how to care for it. We found his toad on the internet and learned his Latin and common name. Each day he searched out morsels for his toad, Robert, to eat such as worms and even a baby gecko. I did cringe a bit at the gecko, but Robert ate it. Everything was meticulously recorded in his nature notebook, first by carefully painting a picture, working to match the color properly with watercolor paints. Then, he recorded everything that happened, being sure to include the Latin name, Bufo speciousus, and common name, Texas Toad as well. I was there to watch his pleasure and satisfaction in a job well done.

While reading in his history books, This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall, George Washington’s World by Genevieve Foster, and Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie Bober, I witnessed his growing understanding of the cost of war in lives, property, and civilization. He is learning that our freedom was bought with a high price and what happens on our shores or in foreign lands, has a global impact. He is coming to know that what happened in the past affects the present.

Through his citizenship book, Plutarch’s Lives, he can see that the character of a man can have an impact on others for good and evil. Through our grand conversations I see how he is taking in these ideas and it is growing his character. We have the opportunity live out our faith by applying what we are reading in the Bible to our lives all day, every day.

We study artists, geography, Latin, grammar, foreign language; we read poetry from the best poets, literature with rich vocabulary and has stood the test of time, Shakespeare, and sing songs. Every day I see him drink from the feast of knowledge that I present to him and it has created an even greater hunger to know. I am a witness to how the ideas presented by the best artists, authors, creation, and Creator are shaping his character and equipping him to think for himself, to take in what he needs or what is right and reject the rest. It is truly a privilege and an honor that I wish every parent could have.

How to Choose a Curriculum Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:11:00 -0700

How to Analyze the Curricula

If you have not read my last two articles in this series, I encourage you to take the time to do so before reading this article. This article only makes sense in light of those.

There are two main approaches to presenting mathematics concepts in textbooks. One type is a spiral curriculum in which the assumption is that children understand mathematics through repetition. Mastery of a concept is not expected until it has been reintroduced several times, sometimes over years. New concepts continue to be presented and then the previous concepts will be reviewed with each progressive lesson. A spiral curriculum touches on a wide number of concepts in a year in less depth with less time devoted to each new concept. Saxon Math is an example of this type of curriculum.

The other type of curriculum is content mastery. The assumption is that learning is sequential and concepts build upon each other. Foundational to this approach is the idea that children learn mathematics through understanding and mastering concepts. A concept or skill is presented in many different ways and is mastered before moving on to the next. Fewer concepts are covered than in a spiral approach and more time is given for each concept because it is taught in more depth. Mastery of a concept is required before moving on to a new one. Making Math Meaning by Cornerstone Curriculum is an example of this type of curriculum.

In light of the way in which we know how children learn math naturally as explained in part one of this series, one of these two methods seem counter to that. Can you identify which one? If you said the spiral approach you are correct. What this approach does is to take teaching the new mathematics concepts out of their proper real world context. If you take a concept out of its context you are taking away the one thing that gives the idea real meaning. Do you think your child would understand an abstract concept if you use another abstract concept to teach it? No, the natural learning occurs when you use something your child already understands to explain something abstract. Each lesson presents a new concept before your child has had the opportunity to grasp the one presented the day before. When your child is struggling to understand a concept, she experiences the physical effects of anxiety. If you ask any child how their tummy feels while they are in a state of confusion with a new concept or skill, they will tell you that they feel a knot or butterflies. When there is mastery of that difficult concept or skill, the anxiety is gone and there is a rush of relief and joy. Their perseverance is rewarded and their confidence is elevated. I have observed this over and over again in teaching children mathematics. With the spiral approach to mathematics, day after day the child is exposed to new concepts with no mastery of that concept. The amount of anxiety and frustration they are feeling is rarely relieved. After years of learning with this type of curriculum the student can lose heart and give up. They believe that they can’t learn math. It does not have to be this way.

Do you remember what Mason revealed as the practical value of a mathematics education? Those were the training in reasoning and the habits of understanding, a willingness to work, accuracy, and being intellectually truthful. Do you think this lofty goal can be achieved through the spiral approach?

So how do you know what a spiral curriculum looks like? You have to look at how the curriculum is set up. Look at the scope and sequence from kindergarten through 12th grade if it goes that high. Look for concepts that are taught, year after year. Look at a specific grade level text book. You can look at any grade level textbook table of contents at the Saxon Math website to see an example of how a spiral approach textbook is set up. Determine how often new concepts are presented and if mastery of that new concept is achieved after it is taught. Look at the assignments to see if they are loaded with computation problems with little or no word problems? A quick search on the internet for spiral math programs will also be a big help to you in identification of this type of curriculum.

Not all mastery programs are created the same. They all start with the correct foundation that children learn through mastering concepts sequentially taught, but the way the concepts are taught may be artificial and frustrate a student. When looking at mastery curricula, keep in mind the foundation of teaching mathematics that it starts with a problem that requires understanding before moving to the abstract symbolic representation of that problem. This is the way you help the child connect an abstract concept to something real that they already understand. Be aware, that there are many mastery programs that teach in the traditional method of starting with the symbolic representation of a problem then using objects to make the symbolic real. Remember that the objects themselves are a representation and can be abstract to the child. The proper context for mathematics is the real world math problem that needs to be solved first, with objects if needed, and then using the symbolic representation to show what they already know from solving the problem.

Before deciding on a curriculum, read the scope and sequence. Make sure that there is mastery of concepts before presenting a new concept. Fewer concepts will be taught with more time given to teach each one. Read sample lessons to see if you are comfortable with the teaching format. Look for a focus on word problems first, rather than the symbolic representation of the math concept. There may be some lessons with mostly computation problems, but this should be the case only after the concept has been presented in the real world context with word problems. At the website for Making Math Meaningful by Cornerstone Curriculum you can find a good example of what a mastery approach mathematics curriculum looks. It also adheres to the teaching of mathematics that corresponds with how children learn naturally. You can see the concepts and skills taught for each grade level as well as sample lessons to see how they are laid out. There are more curricula available like this one, so you have options and can chose one that best suits you.

The curriculum should not require a lot of expensive manipulatives. Dried beans or centimeter cubes work well as counters, Unifix Cubes work well for making groups and fractions, and some type of place value blocks are sufficient for teaching addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. They can be found cheaply online, used, or in local stores so they don’t blow your budget.

With the growing popularity of homeschooling, there are new mathematics curricula entering the market every year. Your choices are vast, but don’t be intimidated. You do not have to be an expert mathematician in order to teach mathematics. All you need is determination and the knowledge of how children naturally learn mathematics. You have the knowledge you need to choose an effective math curriculum. I wish you well on your search and wisdom for your decision making.

How to Choose a Mathematics Curriculum Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 14:53:00 -0700

Charlotte Mason’s Key to Teaching Mathematics

“Of all his early studies, perhaps none is more important to the child as a means of education than that of arithmetic.”

Charlotte Mason vol. 1 pg 253-54

Mason’s statement is bold and elevates mathematics to the top of the priority list as a means of education. This puts choosing the curriculum for mathematics something of the utmost importance and not to be done without considerable thought and research. Can you make a mistake and choose an ineffective curriculum or one that is very difficult to work with? Yes, I did in my sons first year of homeschool, kindergarten. Like most American’s, I grew up and went to college in the public school system. Although I originally went to college to be a chemist, I eventually switched majors to graduate with a teaching degree and a science major and mathematics minor. I had been so trained in my thinking about mathematics by this history, that I had made my choice with that mindset. Fortunately, I realized early on, my grave error. I hope to share with you, the insights I have gained by reading what Charlotte Mason had to say about teaching arithmetic, so that you are fully equipped to make a well informed choice.

“That he should do sums is of comparatively small importance; but the use of those functions which 'summing' calls into play is a great part of education so much so, that the advocates of mathematics and of language as instruments of education have, until recently, divided the field pretty equally between them.”

Charlotte Mason vol. 1 pg 255

The ability to make a calculation has little importance according to Mason. In today’s high tech, fast paced culture it is even truer than in Mason day. Everyone has access to calculators on their phones, computers, tablets, or iPods. If you can push buttons, you can make a computation. It requires very little thought or ability. She goes on to explain that it is the use of these calculations that hold the value to the education of the person. While easily measured, computational skills are not the goal of mathematics education.

What I am about to share with you I learned, not from my teacher training in college, but instead from reading chapter XV- Arithmetic, in volume 1 of Charlotte Mason’s Homeschooling Series, which in turn caused a monumental paradigm shift in how I understood the teaching of mathematics.

Think about how you were taught to add and then how your child is taught the same concept in a traditional mathematics programs today. Not much has changed. If you open a math workbook today, you probably see problems like 2+5=___. To a young child, addition is a difficult, abstract concept to understand. He must first understand what the numbers, addition sign and equal sign mean. In the workbook there may be two objects printed under the 2 and five objects printed under the 5 which the child then counts and finds the sum. With the new hands on approach to learning, the student is given counters to represent each of the numbers and then he counts them all together. Either way he is expected to find the sum of seven. The pictures or counters are the means to make this abstract number sentence more concrete and to help the child understand what the number sentence means. On an average math page you may see up to 20-30 computation problems. The child labors and struggles to understand the idea of addition some with more difficulty than others. This is the traditional approach to teaching abstract math concepts and how, you may agree, mathematics is taught.

Through decades of observing children, Charlotte Mason discovered that this is not really how children learn math naturally. She discovered the missing key to teaching mathematics.

Imagine trying to teach a person to read music. You show her the notation and tell her the names of each of the notes and symbols, but you never give her an instrument to actually play the notes. You may be able to teach her to read the notes on the page with much struggle along the way, but does she really know music? In the same way you may be able teach him to do math calculations with much struggle along the way, but does he really know math? In the case of the music, the playing of the instrument is the proper context for the understanding of the abstract symbols that represent the music. Presenting abstract ideas and concepts within their proper context is the key to understanding knowing the ideas or concepts. Properly framing the abstract ideas or concepts in the real world setting is what makes learning something abstract so natural. What then is the proper context for knowing mathematics? Charlotte Mason went directly to real life application.

“Engage the child upon little problems within his comprehension from the first, rather than upon set sums.”

Charlotte Mason vol. 1, p. 254

All mathematics starts with a real life problem that requires the use of numbers in order to solve it. You cannot go through a day without using math in one form or another. We use it all of the time. This idea of starting with a real problem is a crucial foundational concept to the teaching of mathematics. It is also the exact opposite of the traditional understanding of mathematics. In traditional teaching of mathematics, the symbolic is the beginning and then manipulatives are used to make the symbols concrete. Remember those long pages of ciphers with two word problems at the end? This is not how we do math in the real world and this is not how children learn math concepts naturally. First, start with the problem and offer the use of manipulatives to help solve the problem and make the real world math problem concrete.
For example:

You have two gerbils. The mama gerbil gives birth to five baby gerbils. Now how many gerbils do you have?

Next, give him counters of some sort in order to solve the problem. It is after he has solved the problem and discovered there are seven gerbils that the symbolic representation of the problem he just solved is presented.

2+5=7.

It is very easy at this point for the child to understand the meaning of the numbers and symbols. Do you see the difference? The symbolic representation now has meaning because it is representing something the child already knows. The knowing (solving a real world math problem) must precede the representation (the corresponding number sentence). Mason goes on to explain the need to demonstrate what needs to be demonstrated and here would require the skill of the math teacher to be able to present a concept in different ways if the child does not immediately grasp it in the way you initially presented it.

“The practical value of arithmetic to persons in every class of life goes without remark. But the use of the study in practical life is the least of its uses. The chief value of arithmetic, like that of the higher mathematics, lies in the training it affords the reasoning powers, and in the habits of insight, readiness, accuracy, intellectual truthfulness it engenders.”

Charlotte Mason vol. 1 pg 255

Mason eloquently lays out the chief end of mathematics, the true value of it for the child. The result of teaching children in the way they learn naturally as she has described is the training in reasoning. The habits of understanding, willingness to work, accuracy, and being intellectually truthful are also developed.

When children are taught in a way that is compatible to the nature of learning, it is like paddling a canoe down a river along with the current. The way is gentle and joyful. There may be challenging problems to solve, but the struggle is with many rewards. On the other hand, teaching in a way contrary to how learning is done naturally is like paddling that canoe against a turbulent current. The journey is filled with frustration and confusion. Some of you may have experienced this yourselves with the way you were taught mathematics. The result of teaching contrary to nature is that you and many other people relate feeling that they are not good at math, but what is not good was the way in which you were taught.

Now that you understand the way in which mathematics should be taught and the goal of that education, when you analyze the curriculum choices you will be able to filter the choices by looking for a curriculum that matches this natural way of teaching children.

Look for part 2, my next article on how to analyze the curricular.

The Mathematics Curriculum: Should it Stay or Should it Go?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:43:00 -0700

“I don’t like the math curriculum we are using. Which curriculum would you recommend?”

Having taught mathematics in the public schools, I get this question every year. I am sharing my thoughts on this topic to give you a perspective you may not have considered in the past. When you hear a fellow homeschooling friend rave about the math program she is using in her homeschool, a lot of us can’t help having order envy. Maybe we would be a lot happier doing math with that curriculum instead. As a result many end up tossing over their current curriculum only to find that the grass was no green on this side of the fence. This cycle may continue to perpetuate itself because you are looking for something that does not exist.

Every mathematics program has a scope and sequence or an outline of skills and information to be taught, organized by grade level. If you switch the curriculum from year to year the unavoidable consequence is that your children will have gaps, concepts they did not master but should have, in their mathematics education. The more often you switch the curriculum, the bigger and vaster the gaps. As a result of these gaps, it is a lot harder for them to understand the more difficult concepts in the later years because they have not mastered the necessary foundational concepts needed.

My recommendation would be to stick with what you have. I cannot stress enough persevering with a curriculum so that your children are taught all of the concepts they need, when they need them. The bottom line is that there is no mathematics curriculum available that makes you want to cheer with excitement. Yes, there are different types of mathematics programs, but ultimately math is math; the concepts to be taught are absolute. 2+2 will always equal 4 regardless of the curriculum. Mathematics is not thrilling to most people no matter how the curriculum company presents it, but it can be enjoyable to master new concepts that were difficult. There is satisfaction in that.

“My child is struggling with the concepts presented in the curriculum I am currently using. Isn’t that a good reason to switch to a different curriculum?”

First, the beauty of homeschooling is that you are not on anyone else’s timeline. If you need to spend much longer on a difficult concept, then you have the freedom to do that. If you want to skip pages in a section that has been quickly mastered, then you are free to do that.

Second, the struggle to grasp new concepts is not an indication that the curriculum is not working for you. It is also not a sign of academic weakness in your child or an indication that your child is not mathematically minded. Struggle is the means in which your child learns hard things. A weight lifter cannot start with the heaviest weight. He must work his way up to it by regular practice with light and then gradually heavier weights in order to build and strengthen his muscles. It is like this with mathematics as well. It requires frequent practice of solving math problems with gradually increasing difficulty. As a result, your child will develop the habits of accuracy, observation, and perseverance. Each struggle strengthens the child. There is nothing more exciting for the child who has persevered with a difficult concept to finally understand it. There is such an overwhelming sense of relief and joy in seeing the problem through to its successful end. In the midst of your child’s struggle, if you see him begin to lose heart, remind him of that last moment of success as a means of encouragement.

“Mathematics depends upon the teacher rather than upon the text-book and few subjects are worse taught; chiefly because teachers have seldom time to give the inspiring ideas, what Coleridge calls, the 'Captain' ideas, which should quicken imagination.”

Charlotte Mason Vol. 6 p. 233

Finally, it falls upon the teacher to present the concept to the child in a way that he can understand. The curriculum is only a guide. If your child does not understand the concept after you have presented it as suggested by the curriculum, then you as the mathematics teacher must find a different way to present that concept. Mathematics was one of the subjects that Mason agreed relied heavily on the teacher and she was correct. This may seem daunting to some, but do not let this idea stop you from being a good math teacher. There are so many resources online, that I have full confidence that you will be able to find the help you need. If you are part of a homeschooling network, then there are many people within who could help you as well.

I would like to encourage you to persevere with your curriculum choice. Make it work for you. You have chosen the hardest thing already by choosing to homeschool, you can do this too.

Look for my next post on how to choose a mathematics curriculum.

A Revolutionary Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 13:49:00 -0800

‎"An idea fitly put is taken in without effort, and, once in, ideas behave like living creatures––they feed, grow, and multiply." Charlotte Mason, Vol. 2 pg 77 of Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series

Atheistic, secular humanists have taken over public education and they have won the hearts and minds of the youth in our country. They have removed any ability for a public school educator to teach the Bible as God’s truth. Children are treated like they are computers, a product of their mechanistic biology. The goal of the public school education is to have an equal output for all. The way this is done is to give every child the same input, so that every child will have an equal output. It is measured mechanistically by testing. The result is generations of children leaving school uneducated and indoctrinated. They can reproduce the propaganda, facts, or information poured into them to regurgitate on a test and then to be quickly forgotten. They can repeat what they were taught to think in short pithy sound bites, but they have not been educated on how to think critically for themselves. This has been disastrous for our country and a recipe for the masses to be controlled by its rulers.

In the middle ages, the Christian church opened schools and began to educate the people. The concept of the university was a Christian one. The impact it had on western civilization was transformative.

What if the Christian churches in America or around the world offered a free education to their church member’s children and to the public? Give the parents in this country a viable alternative. The teachers in the Church schools would not be muzzled like they are in public schools. Children would learn God’s truth.

“What about the cost?” you ask. Who would fund this endeavor? The church would. Think for a moment how much money is sent by the church for overseas missions every year. The amount of money is in the billions. What if some of that money was invested in the missionary outreach in our own communities to reach the hearts and minds of the youth for Christ? Do you think that it would be possible? I do.

As thousands of homeschooling families already know, a quality education does not have to be costly. With a free online curriculum like Ambleside Online, www.amblesideonline.org, that offer’s a guideline for a quality education following the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason, it would be affordable. Most of the high quality books needed are already available as free ebooks and audiobooks in the public domain. For the books that needed to be purchased, they can be purchased as used at a fraction of the cost of a new book.

A Charlotte Mason education starts with God as the creator and children as persons, made in the image of God and capable of intelligent, independent thought. From birth they have all the faculties they need to learn and build relationships with everything and everyone in the world around them. With an insatiable desire for knowledge, the mind of the child grows and thrives on ideas. Provide their minds with a feast of the best ideas from the best minds throughout mankind’s history and include a wide subject areas and the child will learn and grow. Study the works of the best poets, writers of literature, composers, artists, historians, as well as language, geographies with history taught from the begin, “God created the heavens and the earth” to present times as a proper context for the ideas. History taught rightly as the story of the relationship between God and his creation, our story, the story of mankind. With the aide of the Holy Spirit and God’s truth from the Bible, student’s world view will connect them to reality as it really is in Truth.

Can you just imagine how that kind of education of millions of children would impact our world? The church providing an education for all and winning the hearts and minds of our youth for Christ. Its revolutionary!

The Method of a Lesson

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:04:00 -0700

What is the method for teaching a lesson in a Charlotte Mason education? It is the method of a lesson and what comes before or after it that sets it apart from how lessons are taught in a traditional education. This is where her philosophy is put into practice.

The following three videos are of educators from Ambleside Schools International as they explain Mason's lesson method and how to put it into practice. What do you notice that is different than conventional schooling?

Joy in God's Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 9 Sep 2012 09:15:00 -0700

I would love to share with you what God is doing in our trials. The last three weeks have been a whirlwind in our family. In my last post I announced that I would not be homeschooling for the first time in my sons education. The economy such as it is has driven the big changes in our home. We have our house on the market to sell [Let me know if you are looking for a house in TX]. We need to eat so I have to work.

My son has special needs. Last spring he was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder or SPD which is a neurological disorder causing difficulties with taking in, processing and responding to sensory information about the environment and from within his own body (visual, auditory, tactile, olfaction, gustatory, vestibular and proprioception). You can learn more about it at understandingspd.com. Our years of homeschooling have been exactly what he has needed, providing an environment in which he learns best. Sending him to the local public school was like having to send him into a sensory battlefield.

We felt that if it was God’s will at this time for him to be in a large classroom environment, then He would provide for us and help him through it. God is very good and gives us what we need. A dear friend of mine approached me with the name of a friend, Mrs. Baker, who would homeschool our son. She has had experience teaching special needs and has a daughter with SPD. She also has a friend who can help her with occupational therapy for him as well. Our specific needs were met so kindly by God through this special lady and we are grateful.

This week was his first week of school. The first morning was full of anxiety of the unknown, but the boy I picked up after school and pictured above with his teacher, was brimming with joy. He loved his teacher. He got to meet lots of new children and made some friends. One of his co-ops are with children who also have SPD which means he is no longer the weird one in the group. They all understand each other and don't look at his behaviors as odd or different.

In my last post I expressed how my going back to work and my son having to be public schooled has been a back cloud that has always hovered over my staying home with my son. I know that it is the same with many, many homeschooling single income families. Over the last year and a half the Lord has been dealing with my sin of worry. I keep going back to what Jesus says on the sermon on the mount in Matthew ch. 6.

The Cure for Anxiety

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

When I worry about what is going to happen tomorrow, I demonstrate that I don't trust God to provide for whatever that future may bring. Again He has demonstrated that He will provide for us and give us exactly what we need in our situation today. I also try to remember that God is much more concerned about my character and Christ likeness than He is in my comfort. Sometimes He has to take me out of my comfort zone to teach me a lesson I have not gotten any other way. So today I rejoice that our financial situation is difficult, because I have been given the opportunity to see God's loving provision for our family in this special way.

The Waves of Change

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 06:58:00 -0700

Throughout our homeschool journey, there has always been a black cloud hanging over this endeavor. Could we continue to afford to have me home homeschooling our son or would I have to go back to work full time? By the grace of God we have been able to do it all of these years and by the grace of God I must now go back to work full time. This transition has been wrought with anxiety and worry which has sent me to the Bible in Matthew chapter 6 of the sermon on the mount where Jesus explains how we are so much more precious to God than the birds of the air. He provides for the birds and he will provide of us even more.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Today we are looking at some options for our sons education and pray that it is temporary. We trust that the Lord will provide for all of our needs in this time of change and look forward to the day we can resume our homeschooling journey.

Ambleside Online Years Are Not Equivalent to Traditional Schooling Grade Levels

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:13:00 -0700

"One limitation I did discover in the minds of these little people; my friend insisted that they could not understand English Grammar; I maintained that they could and wrote a little Grammar (still waiting to be prepared for publication!) for the two of seven and eight; but she was right; I was allowed to give the lessons myself with what lucidity and freshness I could command; in vain; the Nominative 'Case' baffled them; their minds rejected the abstract conception just as children reject the notion of writing an "Essay on Happiness." But I was beginning to make discoveries; the second being, that the mind of a child takes or rejects according to its needs.

From this point it was not difficult to go on to the perception that, whether in taking or rejecting, the mind was functioning for its own nourishment; that the mind, in fact, requires sustenance––as does the body, in order that it increase and be strong; but because the mind is not to be measured or weighed but is spiritual, so its sustenance must be spiritual too, must, in fact, be ideas (in the Platonic sense of images). I soon perceived that children were well equipped to deal with ideas, and

that explanations, questionings, amplifications, are unnecessary and wearisome. Children have a natural appetite for knowledge which is informed with thought. They bring imagination, judgment, and the various so-called 'faculties' to bear upon a new idea pretty much as the gastric juices act upon a food ration. This was illuminating but rather startling; the whole intellectual apparatus of the teacher, his power of vivid presentation, apt illustration, able summing up, subtle questioning, all these were hindrances and intervened between children and the right nutriment duly served; this, on the other hand, they received with the sort of avidity and simplicity with which a healthy child eats his dinner." Vol 6 pg 10-11

The years in the Ambleside Online curriculum do not correspond with the grade levels of traditional schooling. The following is an example of some books read in year 4 and their corresponding reading level.

Year 4
Holling: Minn of the Mississippi (6th grade)
Stevenson: Kidnapped (6th grade)
Bober: Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution (9th grade)
Bulfinch: Age of Fable (9th grade)
Burnford: Incredible Journey (12th grade)
Defoe: Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (12th grade)
Irving: Legend of Sleepy Hollow (College Junior)
Plutarch's Greek Lives; Stadter version (Graduate Level)

My 9 year old year 4 student will not be able to read these particular books on his own but when they are read to him, as the above quote states, he will take or reject the ideas from these books according to his needs. He will bring his natural appetite for knowledge, imagination and judgement to these books and he will receive the sustenance his mind requires to be healthy.

Complete Year 4 Curriculum

Daily Lessons:

Penmanship or Copywork
Math
Foreign language
Latin
Musical Instrument Practice

Weekly Lessons:

Art Appreciation
Art
Grammar (AO's Language Arts Scope and Sequence for this level is here.)
Correspond history readings with a timeline or century book and map
Handicrafts
Music Appreciation, including folksongs and hymns
Nature Study
One Life from Plutarch
A Shakespeare play

Bible

This site has many versions. [note] x Penny Gardner has a list of Old and New Testament stories to read straight from the Bible that may be useful for Bible time. | Bible timeline | Study questions with nice maps |

History: 1700's up to the French and American Revolutions

This Country of Ours by HE Marshall (purchase) (purchase for Kindle) Charles I-George III [note]
** ***George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster (purchase) 349 pages
OR The Story of Mankind by Hendrick Van Loon (purchase/purchase for Kindle) [note] x
optional supplement: ***An Island Story [note] 1 2 x

Term 1
This Country of Ours (purchase) (purchase for Kindle) [note]
Optional: Story of Mankind by Van Loon [note]
OR A Child's History of the World [note]

Term 2
This Country of Ours (purchase) (purchase for Kindle) [note] (purchase)
George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster (purchase) [note]
OR Story of Mankind by Van Loon [note]
OR A Child's History of the World [note]

Term 3
This Country of Ours (purchase) (purchase for Kindle) [note] (purchase)
George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster (purchase) [note]
OR Story of Mankind by Van Loon [note]
OR A Child's History of the World [note]
optional extra: An Island Story [note]

History Tales and/or Biography

Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula (purchase/purchase for Kindle) [note]
* Poor Richard by James Daugherty (purchase)
** *** Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober (purchase/purchase for Kindle) (note).

Geography

Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling (purchase) [note] MR 1 2 BF

Natural History/Science

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock (purchase), as scheduled in Nature Study; online. You may find it helpful and fun to participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenge blog.
Supplies for Nature Study:
Nature notebook and pencils or paint for each student
Begin to build a library of regional field guides
Plenty of time to allow Nature Study to be a fun learning experience for both parent and child

Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley (purchase for Kindle) (see Study Guide/links by Katie Barr; see also: resources below), first half:
* The Glen, Earthquakes;
** Volcanos, Transformations of a Grain of Soil
*** The Ice-Plough, The True Fairy-Tale, The Chalk Carts
The Storybook of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre (purchase/purchase for Kindle)
Optional: Physics Lab in the Home by Robert Friedhoffer (purchase for Kindle) (search amazon.com) [note]

Those preferring a textbook option may use the Exploring Creation With . . . series by Jeannie Fulbright for science in Years 3-6 (purchase): also available here. A support group is available.

Penmanship/Copywork

A curriculum or program for handwriting is not necessary, but if you want to use one, these are some we've used and can suggest:
A Reason for Writing (Level A: purchase) (Level B: purchase)
Getty Dubay Italic Handwriting Series (purchase)

Mathematics

Select a program that meets your family's needs from our page of Math Options.

Foreign Language

Latin

Poetry

* Alfred Lord Tennyson (purchase for Kindle)
** Emily Dickinson
*** William Wordsworth (purchase for Kindle)

Literature

The Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch preface to 14 (Minerva-Niobe) (purchase/purchase for Kindle)
* ** The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (purchase/purchase for Kindle) [note] Free audio podcast.
** *** Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (purchase/purchase for Kindle)
*** The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford (purchase)
short works (purchase a collection of all of these short works for Kindle):
*** The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (purchase) (listen to it on librivox.org)
*** Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (purchase) (listen to it on librivox; scroll down)
*** Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving (purchase) (listen to it on librivox.org; scroll down)

Additional Books for Free Reading [note]
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (purchase) (for Kindle)
Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter (purchase) (for Kindle)
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (purchase) (for Kindle)
The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit (purchase) (for Kindle)
A Book of Golden Deeds by Charlotte Yonge (purchase)
Bambi by Felix Salten (purchase)
The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis (purchase all in one volume) (purchase boxed set)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (purchase for Kindle)
The Magician's Nephew (purchase for Kindle)
The Horse and His Boy (purchase for Kindle)
Prince Caspian (purchase for Kindle)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (purchase for Kindle)
The Silver Chair (purchase for Kindle)
The Last Battle (purchase for Kindle)
Little Britches series by Ralph Moody (purchase) (some language; please preview)
The Borrowers by Mary Norton (purchase) (purchase complete Borrowers boxed set) (purchase for Kindle)
Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight (purchase)
Gentle Ben by Walt Morey (purchase)
Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (purchase)
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright (purchase)
Return To Gone Away by Elizabeth Enright (purchase)
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (purchase)
The Peterkin Papers by Lucretia Hale (purchase); 22 chapters; The Complete Peterkin Papers has a few additional chapters, but each chapter can stand alone. These were originally printed as serials in a magazine.
** Calico Captive (girl interest; purchase/purchase for Kindle) or The Sign of the Beaver (boy interest; purchase/purchase for Kindle) by Elizabeth George Speare
*** Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (purchase)
Tree of Freedom by Rebecca Caudill (purchase)
Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates (purchase)
*** The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery (British view of revolution) (purchase)
Justin Morgan had a Horse by Marguerite Henry (purchase)
See it online at Ambleside's website.

A Short Synopsis Of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy of Education

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:43:00 -0700

"No sooner doth the truth ... . .come into the soul's sight, but the soul knows her to be her first and old acquaintance."

"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; but––

4. These principles are limited by the respect due to the personality of children, which must not be encroached upon whether by the direct use of fear or love, suggestion or influence, or by undue play upon any one natural desire.

5. Therefore, we are limited to three educational instruments––the atmosphere of environment, the discipline of habit, and the presentation of living ideas. The P.N.E.U. Motto is: "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life."

6. When we say that "education is an atmosphere," we do not mean that a child should be isolated in what may be called a 'child-environment' especially adapted and prepared, but that we should take into account the educational value of his natural home atmosphere, both as regards persons and things, and should let him live freely among his proper conditions. It stultifies a child to bring down his world to the child's' level.

7. By "education is a discipline," we mean the discipline of habits, formed definitely and thoughtfully, whether habits of mind or body. Physiologists tell us of the adaptation of brain structures to habitual lines of thought, i.e., to our habits.

8. In saying that "education is a life," the need of intellectual and moral as well as of physical sustenance is implied. The mind feeds on ideas, and therefore children should have a generous curriculum.

vol 6 pg xxx

9. We hold that the child's mind is no mere sac to hold ideas; but is rather, if the figure may be allowed, a spiritual organism, with an appetite for all knowledge. This is its proper diet, with which it is prepared to deal; and which it can digest and assimilate as the body does foodstuffs.

10. Such a doctrine as e.g. the Herbartian, that the mind is a receptacle, lays the stress of education (the preparation of knowledge in enticing morsels duly ordered) upon the teacher. Children taught on this principle are in danger of receiving much teaching with little knowledge; and the teacher's axiom is,' what a child learns matters less than how he learns it."

11. But we, believing that the normal child has powers of mind which fit him to deal with all knowledge proper to him, give him a full and generous curriculum; taking care only that all knowledge offered him is vital, that is, that facts are not presented without their informing ideas. Out of this conception comes our principle that,––

12. "Education is the Science of Relations"; that is, that a child has natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts: so we train him upon physical exercises, nature lore, handicrafts, science and art, and upon many living books, for we know that our business is not to teach him all about anything, but to help him to make valid as many as may be of––

"Those first-born affinities
"That fit our new existence to existing things."

13. In devising a SYLLABUS for a normal child, of whatever social class, three points must be considered:

(a) He requires much knowledge, for the mind needs sufficient food as much as does the body.

(b) The knowledge should be various, for sameness in mental diet does not create appetite (i.e., curiosity)

(c) Knowledge should be communicated in well-chosen language, because his attention responds naturally to what is conveyed in literary form.

14. As knowledge is not assimilated until it is reproduced, children should 'tell back' after a single reading or hearing: or should write on some part of what they have read.

15. A single reading is insisted on, because children have naturally great power of attention; but this force is dissipated by the re-reading of passages, and also, by questioning, summarising. and the like. Acting upon these and some other points in the behaviour of mind, we find that the educability of children is enormously greater than has hitherto been supposed, and is but little dependent on such circumstances as heredity and environment. Nor is the accuracy of this statement limited to clever children or to children of the educated classes: thousands of children in Elementary Schools respond freely to this method, which is based on the behaviour of mind.

16. There are two guides to moral and intellectual self-management to offer to children, which we may call 'the way of the will' and 'the way of the reason.'

17. The way of the will: Children should be taught, (a) to distinguish between 'I want' and 'I will.' (b) That the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts from that which we desire but do not will. (c) That the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing, entertaining or interesting. (d) That after a little rest in this way, the will returns to its work with new vigour. (This adjunct of the will is familiar to us as diversion, whose office it is to ease us for a time from will effort, that we may 'will' again with added power. The use of suggestion as an aid to the will is to be deprecated, as tending to stultify and stereotype character, It would seem that spontaneity is a condition of development, and that human nature needs the discipline of failure as well as of success.)

18. The way of reason: We teach children, too, not to 'lean (too confidently) to their own understanding'; because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration (a) of mathematical truth, (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the former case, reason is, practically, an infallible guide, but in the latter, it is not always a safe one; for, whether that idea be right or wrong, reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs.

19. Therefore, children should be taught, as they become mature enough to understand such teaching, that the chief responsibility which rests on them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas. To help them in this choice we give them principles of conduct, and a wide range of the knowledge fitted to them. These principles should save children from some of the loose thinking and heedless action which cause most of us to live at a lower level than we need.

20. We allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and 'spiritual' life of children, but teach them that the Divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their Continual Helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life.

"Why aren't children in the early years doing an abundance of writing?"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 2 Jul 2012 10:08:00 -0700

Back in the 90’s when I was a teacher in the public school system I was trained in the New Jersey Writing Project. We learned to teach children the writing process through something called Writer’s Workshop. We taught children to brainstorm, write, edit, and to publish their work in a finished product. When they were finished they had a story. The process was cumbersome and the stories the children produced were well, childish, bland, flat, and predictable. Being hindered by their lack of knowledge, the grammar and vocabulary was simple. But the product did not matter so much because what really mattered was the process, right? Charlotte Mason had a very different perspective. She called the practice of teaching young children composition an educational futility.

“I think this great moral teacher here throws down the gauntlet in challenge of an educational fallacy which is accepted, even in the twentieth century. That futility is the extraction of original composition from schoolboys and schoolgirls. The proper function of the mind of the young scholar is to collect material for the generalizations of after-life. If a child is asked to generalise, that is, to write an essay upon some abstract theme, a double wrong is done him. He is brought up before a stone wall by being asked to do what is impossible to him, and that is discouraging. But a worse moral injury happens to him in that, having no thought of his own to offer on the subject, he puts together such tags of commonplace thought as have come in his way and offers the whole as his 'composition,' an effort which puts a strain upon his conscience while it piques his vanity. In these days masters do not consciously put their hand to the work of their pupils as did that 'prodigiously well-read and delightful' master who had the educating of George Osborne. But, perhaps, without knowing it, they give the ideas which the cunning schoolboy seizes to 'stick' into the 'essay' he hates. Sometimes they do more. They deliberately teach children how to 'build a sentence' and how to 'bind sentences' together.” vol 1 pg 244-245

She explains that to expect original thought from a child is to do him great injury and frustrate him because you are asking the impossible. She goes on to explain that composition comes naturally and therefore does not need to be taught formally.

'Composition' comes by Nature.––In fact, lessons on 'composition' should follow the model of that famous essay on "Snakes in Ireland"––"There are none." For children under nine, the question of composition resolves itself into that of narration, varied by some such simple exercise as to write a part and narrate a part, or write the whole account of a walk they have taken, a lesson they have studied, or of some simple matter that they know. Before they are ten, children who have been in the habit of using books will write good, vigorous English with ease and freedom; that is, if they have not been hampered by instructions. It is well for them not even to learn rules for the placing of full stops and capitals until they notice how these things occur in their books. Our business is to provide children with material in their lessons, and leave the handling of such material to themselves. If we would believe it, composition is as natural as jumping and running to children who have been allowed due use of books. They should narrate in the first place, and they will compose, later readily enough; but they should not be taught 'composition.'

Oral narration is the first step to becoming a good writer. A child of six that is asked to write a composition of any kind is hindered by his lack of writing skills. He does not know how to spell nor understand punctuation and grammar. The forming of his letters can become a hindrance as well. As a result the child must limit his composition to fit his limited skills. Let him compose orally and you have just removed all of the obstacles to successfully communicate his ideas. When a child narrates he is telling back what he knows from an experience he has had, a reading selection, nature observation, or picture observation. When he tells back what he knows from a chapter in history or literature he will incorporate the grammar and vocabulary from the selection read. As he gets older he will learn to add connections he has made or his thoughts and opinions into his narrations. If you are presenting the child with living books written by authors using rich language and complex sentence structure your child’s narrations will eventually reflect that which has been model. It follows that if you are presenting the child with dry, uninspired text books, his oral narrations will reflect the writing modeled in those books. At the age of 10 or 11 the child will begin composing written narrations. By this age the child will have spent extensive time reading and listening to models of good writing and are far better equipped to write than a child of younger years.

There is wisdom in Charlotte Mason’s writings on this topic. I can see there is also truth in it. Let your child compose, orally, everyday with all of his books. Just be sure those books are of a high quality with vital ideas and a rich vocabulary written by one author who is passionate about his subject.

How do you do picture study?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:00:00 -0700

“We cannot measure the influence that one or another artist has upon the child's sense of beauty, upon his power of seeing, as in a picture, the common sights of life; he is enriched more than we know in having really looked at even a single picture.” Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1 p.309

God is the author of beauty and beauty is a reflection of God's character. As the crowning glory of God's creation, made in the image of God, mankind has been given the ability to recognize it. But what happens when children are confined to the four walls of a classroom and then spend hours in front of an electronic screen when at home? Do you think this could stifle their ability to recognize it? I think if you look at the direction the contemporary art world has gone the answer would be yes. Paint splash on a canvas or a urinal on display in an art museum is far from beautiful and some would say true art. In contrast, take a walk through a meadow in the spring with its abundance of wildflowers bursting through the soil and growing under the warm rays of sunshine and you will see God's standard of beauty. Charlotte Mason tells us that education is the "Science of Relations." Picture study allows the child to form a personal relationship with the artist of the picture they are studying as they connect with his or her work. If they have been given ample outdoor time studying God's creation they will be able to also make connections with our creator as well. Mason's method of picture study is very simple. Study the best artists throughout history and it will provide wonderful ideas in which the mind can grow and thrive on.

The Good Samaritan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:42:00 -0700

If you wanted to come to the seminar to learn how to implement a Charlotte Mason education using the free Curriculum Ambleside Online, but funds are very tight, a good Samaritan has paid for your attendance. There is only one so it is for the first person to email me at yourmathsolutions@gmail.com.

Rebecca Miller

Getting Started Implementing Ambleside Online Curriculum

Presenter:

Rebecca Miller, Homewood Member

15 years teaching in public, private and homeschool

Founded and runs Mason Approach to Children’s Education Co-op

Member of North Houston Charlotte Mason Group

Where:

Room 109

South County Community Center

2235 Lake Robbins Dr, The Woodlands, TX, 77380

When:

June 28

What Time:

6:30-8:30pm

Cost (Materials Included):

Early bird mail in discount: $10 per person

At the door if space is available: $15 per person

Space is limited. First come, first serve. Reserve you’re seat by mailing a check to Rebecca Miller by June 15th. Please include the names of those attending and an email address.

A Charlotte Mason Education Successfully Prepares Students For College

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 9 Jun 2012 12:43:00 -0700

"Rebecca, your blog site is lovely and reflects the beauty of a CM education. Our family educated our three oldest daughters using the CM method and not only created wonderful memories but they were all well-prepared for college. I wish you and your services had been around when our girls were young; I read and outlined all of CM's books and figured it all out on my own- an arduous task. I hope that many parents will benefit from your services and come to know how delightful and successful the CM method of education can be."- sheila Herreid, 20+ yr homeschool vet

It is reassuring to hear from those that have gone before us. I hear again and again from homeschool moms with college age or adult children who have grow up with a Charlotte Mason based education who when they enter college are head and shoulders above their peers. Another friend's daughter told her mother that college was much easier than her Charlotte Mason homeschool.

Universities are spending more each year to remediate high school graduates because they do not possess the knowledge and skills to successfully complete a degree program. It is not needed in the case of Charlotte Mason educated students.

I think the reason why students educated with a Mason approach are so successful in college is summarized quite well in this quote from Charlotte Mason.

"Therefore, children should be taught, as they become mature enough to understand such teaching, that the chief responsibility which rests on them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas. To help them in this choice we give them principles of conduct, and a wide range of knowledge fitted to them. These principles should save children from some of the loosing thinking and heedless action which cause most of us to live at a lower level than we need." vol. 6

Shouldn’t a child’s education include lots of science experiments?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 2 Jun 2012 08:08:00 -0700

“No-eyes come home bored; he has seen nothing, been interested in nothing: while Eyes is all agog to discuss a hundred things that have interested him. As I have already tried to point out, to get this sort of instruction for himself is simply the nature of a child: the business of the parent is to afford him abundant and varied opportunities, and to direct his observations, so that, knowing little of the principles of scientific classification, he is, unconsciously, furnishing himself with the materials for such classification. It is needless to repeat what has already been said on this subject; but, indeed, the future of the man or woman depends very largely on the store of real knowledge gathered, and the habits of intelligent observation acquired, by the child. ” Charlotte Mason vol 1 pg 265

I loved my high school chemistry class with all of its experiments and chemical formulas. I knew this was the career path I wanted to take. I entered my university with the intention of getting a degree in Chemistry. What I found out midway through was that I loved teaching more. I graduated with a Bachelors of Science and a teaching degree with a science major and math minor. I did lots of experiments with my students…or so I thought.

All of us were taught the scientific method whether we remember it or not.

Scientific Method
Observation/Research
Hypothesis
Prediction
Experimentation
Conclusion

Did you notice where the scientific method begins? It starts with observation and research of the natural world, nature study! It is the foundation. This is the missing link in traditional education. The rest of the method flows from that. You cannot have a scientific method if you do not have its starting point. In my previous post “Is nature study enough in the younger years?” I explained that nature study is the starting point of all real science. If you haven’t read it, please do.

You probably have at least one experiment book on your shelf. You can thumb through it to pick out an experiment for your study of sound or motion. The experiment would then provide the hypothesis, the steps for the experiment and then it will draw the conclusion for you or tell the student why it works. This is somebody else using the scientific method to create an experiment. Somebody else has already drawn the conclusions for the child. The student is just copying somebody else’s preprocessed information, very much like following a recipe. This is not a science experiment. What your child has learned to do is follow directions but there is very little real science in this, it is instead another form of dispensing knowledge.

Wouldn’t it be better for the child to actually do the scientific investigation himself? How does this look? Let’s look at example of a child directed experiment that took place in my home.

Observation and Research
Caleb noticed a potato in the pantry had sprouted eyes and he wanted to know what they were and why they were there. I explained what the eyes of the potato were and that if you cut them off with some of the potato they would grow.

Hypothesis
“I am going to plant it in the pot,” he said.
“If you plant one in the garden as well, which one do you think would grow better?” I asked.

Prediction
“I think the one in the garden will because it has more space for the roots and better soil to grow in,” he predicted.

Experimentation
He planted potato eyes in both places. He kept his potatoes well watered and watched them grow.

Conclusion
He found that the potted potato, although it grew faster, did not get very big. The potatoes from this plant were small. His garden plant took longer to grow and yielded a much bigger plant with bigger potatoes.

Nothing was written down and no display board was made. It was very natural and informal, but each step in the method was there. Not all of his investigations include every step in the scientific method and that is acceptable. We have also done experiments out of one of our experiment books in the past. Do you think he remembers them? No, because there was nothing for him to connect to the information. A fun experiment copied from a book is not enough for a child to connect to the ideas and concepts. In contrast, he will always remember his potato experiment. Later, when he learns about plant adaptations, he will have an experiential understanding to the concept.

God has created a beautiful world for us to live in. He has also created us in His image, special in His creation. He has given us a desire to know Him. The study and investigation of His creation gives us a peak into the nature and character of our Creator. A child’s education should include scientific investigation but not in the way we have been conditioned to think of science experiments. Let his investigations be an expression of the child’s own observations of nature and his natural curiosity. Then he will be furnished with a storehouse of real knowledge gathered, and the habits of intelligent observation acquired.

A Charlotte Mason Education Is Possible In Your Homeschool

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:48:00 -0700

Tired of being chained to expensive traditional boxed curriculum sets? Have your children been rebelling against the monotony of workbooks and texts books that bore them to tears? Are you looking for a superior education that would stimulate your children to higher more critical thinking with subjects like Bible, world history, math, science, nature study, Shakespeare, composer and artist study, poetry, foreign language, art, handicrafts, music and literature? There is a better way.

You may have read about Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education and been drawn to short lessons reading books that inspire children to think and to develop the whole character; the use of narration which replaces hours of endless paper pencil workbook pages. Lots of outdoor time is spent in studying God’s creation to sharpen the child’s observation skills and to build a science foundation. Children are not buckets or blank slates in which you must fill with dry facts and knowledge to memorize and reproduce on a test. Children require vital ideas in which they may interact with to feed their growing minds.

I would like to help you implement a Charlotte Mason education in your homeschool using Ambleside Online, a free curriculum. The curriculum uses many free online sources as well. I will show you how to use the curriculum and the free resources to plan your weeks, how to write lesson plans, where to find the materials that you would need, and how to get connected into the support community to help you along. So toss out the expensive curriculums that leave you chained to traditional methods that do not work and find educational joy and freedom for you and your family!

Getting Started Implementing Ambleside Online Curriculum Seminar

Presenter:

Rebecca Miller, Homewood Christian Association Member

15 years teaching in public, private and homeschool

Founded and runs Mason Approach to Children’s Education Co-op

Member of North Houston Charlotte Mason Group

Where:

Room 109

South County Community Center

2235 Lake Robbins Dr, The Woodlands, TX, 77380

When:

June 28

What Time:

6:30-8:30pm

Cost (Materials Included):

Early bird mail in discount: $10 per person

At the door if space is available: $15 per person

Space is limited. First come, first serve. Reserve you’re seat by mailing a check to Rebecca Miller by June 15th. Please include the names of those attending and an email address.

Nature Study Comes Knocking on the Window

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 May 2012 12:35:00 -0700

Nature study can happen in the most unexpected ways. A snail oozing across the window sparked questions and investigation. We pull out our jewelers loupes to look at it under 5x magnification. Did you know the eyes are on their retractable antennae? "Are snails born with shells?" he asks. A quick internet search turns up the surprising answer, "Yes," and gives us more fascinating information.

Is nature study enough science in the younger years?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:09:00 -0700

"Of the teaching of Natural Philosophy, I will only remind the reader of what was said in an earlier chapter––that there is no part of a child's education more important than that he should lay, by his own observation, a wide basis of facts towards scientific knowledge in the future. He must live hours daily in the open air, and, as far as possible, in the country; must look and touch and listen; must be quick to note, consciously, every peculiarity of habit or structure, in beast, bird, or insect; the manner of growth and fructification of every plant. He must be accustomed to ask why––Why does the wind blow? Why does the river flow? Why is a leaf-bud sticky? And do not hurry to answer his questions for him; let him think his difficulties out so far as his small experience will carry him. Above all, when you come to the rescue, let it not be in the 'cut and dried' formula of some miserable little text-book; let him have all the insight available and you will find that on many scientific questions the child may be brought at once to the level of modern thought." Charlotte Mason-vol 1 pg 265

Do you remember when you were in 4th grade? Do you remember your fourth grade science textbook with fond memories because you gleaned so much knowledge from it? Most likely you do not remember any of your textbooks fondly because they dryly dispensed facts the curriculum writers thought you should know at each grade level. So when we ask, “Is nature study enough?’ what we are really asking is, “Is the real study of the biological world in its actual context enough science?” We have been so conditioned to think that learning is what is done in a classroom at a desk with text books, that when we are faced with the simplicity of really doing science, it does not seem adequate or real.

Charlotte Mason encourages a paradigm shift from using the abstract dry form of dispensing filtered knowledge in a textbook and children dutifully memorizing this information to experiencing the real thing through the actual study of nature where children learn from their own observations. Nature study IS the foundation of science. It is what drives the child toward a curious investigation of the world God created and it gives children a passion for science in the later years. A child that has never observed a frog first hand or studied fungus in its natural environment will never wonder why frogs are found in or near ponds or why fungus grows in our yards? There will be no further passion to experiment to find out how things work or why they do. They won’t be driven by their curiosity to seek out those answers.

Living books that bring the natural world alive by writers that are passionate about their subject, undergird the study of nature. James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot, The Burgess Bird Book for Children or The Burgess Animal Book by Thornton Burgess, Secrets of the Woods by William J. Long, Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley are read in the younger years. These writers draw their readers into the natural world in such a way that the reader connects with it on a personal level. Later, the children read biographies of the people who have made a significant impact in the field of science such as Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Alexander Graham Bell, and George Washington, Carver.

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock is a necessity for the teacher. This resource will help you in girding up your knowledge and it gives great nature study ideas. Include some field guides to help identify what you find on your nature walks.

Nature Notebooks allow the child to hone his observation skills as he attempts to reproduce a subject from nature that has been studied, through drawing or painting. As the child gets older he will include narrations of the study as well. The nature notebook is not a field guide with dry facts about the subject. It is a living expression of the nature study itself in which the child recounts what happened or what was seen on the nature walk.

To answer the question, “Is nature study enough in the younger years,” I would say no. Round out your study with living books about nature, field guides, The Hand book of nature for the teacher, and sufficient time working in a nature notebook every week. Get them outdoors often, every day if possible. This is the solid foundation to build a science education on which will give your child the passion and tools for a lifelong love of science and learning!

Ambleside Online is Not Structured Enough?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 2 May 2012 16:34:00 -0700

When I tell people that I am using the Charlotte Mason curriculum Ambleside Online for my homeschool the response is often, “I have looked into it once but was overwhelmed. I need something that is much more structured.” I understand why one would feel that way. When you go the Ambleside Online website, you can easily become overwhelmed when looking at the long list of weekly readings. It is hard for many to imagine how that list can become what you traditionally thought of as school. What many people do not know is that there are organized schedules that you can download for free.

The school year is 36 weeks which is divided into three 12 week terms. The term schedules break down the books into weekly readings by chapter. The schedule below is the one we are currently working from. This is one of six pages. Once you have downloaded it, the schedule is fully editable. You simply fill it in with your math curriculum and so forth. This is the schedule from Judy Elliot, which I use to make my weekly lesson plans from. So don’t get stymied by the website. There is an easier more structured format! You can find the files on the AO HEO Schedules Yahoo Group. Simply join the group to gain access to the schedules you will need to implement the curriculum.

What is The Benefit of Training in Habits?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:26:00 -0700

"Sow an act, reap a habit.

Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny."

Charlotte Mason

Do you have a morning routine? You know, one you do every day without thinking about it. That is a habit. Habits are the oil in the machinery of your day. Your habits will either help or hinder as you navigate through life. Good habits allow you to manage your time and tasks with little internal or outward disruption. Bad habits hinder your efficiency, cause conflicts, and disorder.

The prevailing thought today is that we should give our children choices so that they can make their own decisions. It is thought that this empowers them with a sense of independence. Charlotte Mason would disagree and so would I. When you make a decision about anything you must stop and consider possibilities, pros, and cons. Then you must make the decision, all requiring mental effort. Imagine now that you had to make a decision about every single action or thought. When should I get out of bed? Should I put slippers on my feet or not to walk to the bathroom? Should I shower first or brush my teeth? What kind of toothpaste should I use? Very quickly I would be paralyzed by the process. By the end of the day I would be exhausted by the constant mental effort. Do we really want to do this to our children? No! Good habits will empower your children much more than giving them choices.

As part of my son's education, I spend time every week working toward the formation of good habits because these take work. Anyone can form a bad habit as this is what our natures tend toward. A bad habit formed makes forming the opposite good habit even harder. So here is a list of some of the habits we have worked on the past and continue to perfect.

The Habit Of:

Attention
Thinking
Obedience
Courage
Perseverance
Telling the truth
Putting away your toys
Organization
Making your bed
Brushing your teeth

Build It and They Will Come

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:20:00 -0700

After an early morning visit from a Blue Jay, this little guy wanted some of that yummy seed hanging from the top of this window. We are shocked at how brave he was. He came back several times during the day. One time he made an attempt at climbing up the window with his claws, to no avail. For his efforts we left him a little seed on the window sill. Nature study just got a little easier!