Picture a banquet, a feast, lavishly spread on a long table. Now, keep that picture in your mind, for that is how Charlotte Mason described the abundance of ideas that we should make available to our children in their school work.
“We spread an abundant and delicate feast in the programmes and each small guest assimilates what he can” (Vol. 6, p. 183).
So how are you coming in preparing this year’s feast? [Continue reading This Year’s Feast …]
Wow. We never dreamed we would sell out our first print run of Jack’s Insects within four days of its release. But that’s what happened. Quite the enthusiastic response! [Continue reading Enthusiastic Response to Jack’s Insects …]
Several years ago I heard about an intriguing living science book that Charlotte Mason had used in her schools. The book was called Jack’s Insects, and I looked everywhere for it. I couldn’t find it anywhere — online or off. So I kept it on my watch list and went on about my schooling. Imagine my excitement when I finally spotted a copy this year from an antique book seller online! [Continue reading Jack’s Insects …]
Be sure to check out the biggest CM Blog Carnival yet! Cindy is hosting the Back to School Planning Bash over at On Our Journey Westward. She has posted more than forty entries from CMers, sharing ideas for Daily Schedules and Curriculum Choices, Schoolroom and Other Organizing Ideas, and Plans for Particular Subjects. Enjoy!
I love doing the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminars! It’s so much fun to meet other CMers and spend the day discussing how practical and do-able the Charlotte Mason method really is.
So what is an All-Day CM Seminar like? Glad you asked. [Continue reading CM Seminars in Nashville & Charleston …]
Final exams. What memories does that phrase bring to your mind? Too often final exams are approached like evil dragons that students must occasionally slay. And too often a student prepares for the fight much like a foolish knight who frantically stuffs down his throat all the healthful foods that he has neglected for so long, vainly tries to polish his rusty sword, and seeks a friend who might know the best shortcut to conquering the ferocious beast. Only in our case the student probably begs the teacher to tell him what will be on the test and then stays up all night cramming the necessary facts into his short-term memory. Sound familiar? [Continue reading End of Term Exams in the Charlotte Mason Method …]
The past few weeks we’ve been discussing Charlotte Mason methods for assessing what our children remember. Last time we looked briefly at narration.
Now, those of you who have already read it, no peeking. What do you recall about narration? No, you don’t have to remember word-for-word each point that was presented. Just try to draw that memory from last time back out of your mind for a moment. What can you remember? (By the way, I hope you are getting in the habit of mentally narrating what you read.) [Continue reading Pre-reading Reviews …]
Last week we started a new series discussing the Charlotte Mason methods we can use to evaluate, or assess, what our children are learning. If you missed that introduction, you can read it on our SCM Blog.
Today let’s talk about perhaps the most well-known of those assessment methods: narration. In its basic form, narration is retelling in your own words. Such a method may sound easy enough — and in some ways it is a simple and natural method — but it also requires a good grasp of the subject matter. [Continue reading The Charlotte Mason Method of Narration …]
As we wrap up a school year and plan for the next one, the question lurks in the back of our minds: How much does my child remember?
Some assessments are built right in to the subject, like math and spelling. You can tell right away how much your child remembers by watching him solve an equation or spell a dictation exercise.
But what about history, geography, science, and other subjects that we simply read together? How do we find out whether the child is remembering what we’ve read? [Continue reading How Much Does My Child Remember? …]
Maybe you can relate. When my children were younger, we would always run out of time to do hands-on projects. By the time we got out all the materials and cleared a space for the activity, we had about ten minutes to work on it before we had to begin cleaning up. How frustrating! [Continue reading A Project Week Idea …]
Habit is like fire, a bad master but an indispensable servant.