The worst part about Charlotte Mason education

Search anywhere on the web and you will find all sorts of lists about the benefits of a Charlotte Mason education.  I could be one of those persons who may have encouraged you to consider it!

Oh the benefits...do they outweigh the disadvantages?

But wouldn't it be good to know the worst parts of using a Charlotte Mason philosophy and methodology?  Just in case you want to sway yourself to try a different philosophy?

Here are just a few of the awful-ist most worst parts of choosing to use a CM Education:

It creates children who are addicted to nature.  They want to spend all their days out of doors.  You must beg them to return indoors to their studies, but then again you also are outside.  They see the beauty in God's creation and see no distinction between the spiritual and natural worlds.

A Charlotte Mason education is very inefficient.  It slows your life down.  Everything has time to be seen and to be known.  The amount of truth and beauty in the world can never be completely seen so you try hard, but there isn't enough time.  That doesn't stop you from trying!

Your book shelves are sorely inadequate.  Every time you buy a new bookshelf it's instantly filled.   You are always in search of the best old book you can find.  Your travels always include looking up the libraries and used book stores in the area.

You make friends that live all over the world and across time.  You spend your dreamtime considering how you might be with them.  Your children know that kindred spirits communing on earth is a glimpse of heaven.

As a parent in a Charlotte Mason philosophy paradigm, you want to go back to school for yourself, so you do.  You read the volumes again and again.  You even pay people to study the volumes with you.

Your children are the experts on music and art.  They tell you the artist that you studied in the past when you can't remember because you didn't narrate well enough.  Most of the time our children hear way more than we think.

Your children find creative ways to learn and have an interest in everything.  They develop deep relationships with all sorts of people they meet and can speak to them about many things.  They don't know a stranger.  They have a simple knowledge of a diversity of many things and can speak to someone about the interests they have.

Your children know geography so well that they can tell you where a obscure country is on the map when it's mentioned in the news.  They also want to travel there and can tell you what trains, planes and cars are required to get there.  

Because of your interest in seeing all persons as images of God, your children do too.  They see the homeless man on the street and want to help him.  They find simple ways of encouraging you to buy extra mittens, extra gift cards, extra socks so that they can make gift bags to keep in the car.  They beg you to pull over so that they can give these things to the begging man on the street.


How about you?  Can you think of some disadvantages to a Charlotte Mason education?

{This is obviously a satire style of post.  Don't misread me.  I see these worst parts as a wonderful blessing.}

Graduating our FOURTH child from highschool

As the years roll by, I see that I post less and less.  How interesting that as my children were young I had to much time on my hands in which to write, to ponder, to talk....

Now that we have four graduated and two more in the wings still learning deep into their education, I find that I have less time!  

This past month I had the joy of watching our fourth child finish her education at home.  She went forward to the junior college during her senior year of school and excelled.  It is so exciting to see a child move from shared learning to self learning and thrive.  As she went through her highschool years she wanted to consider nursing as a passion.  So during her Senior year of highschool she pursued a Certified Nursing Assistant degree at the local junior college. 

Some of the things I noticed that were beneficial about going to the junior college while still in highschool include: navigating new teachers, self time management both to get to school, dialogue with students that were different ages than herself (this community college had many back to school students who had been doing many adult things!), social economic diversity, self awareness.  

What were some things I wondered (not worried) about? 

Does a 16/17 year old have the capacity to be on a college campus?  Will she/he be able to manage her time schedule so that she balances life and school?  Will he/she meet the expectations of her teachers after having a mother teacher who is often willing to bend the time tables?  Have I been firm enough in my expectations over the years that it won't be a shock for him/her?  How can I best help without controlling and managing life during college?  Can I make a soft enough place for him/her to land if he/she needs to fall after failing at something?  Am I making a welcome still for him/her in this home after our formal schooling days together are over?  

What kinds of thoughts have you had about a child finishing their formal learning years in your home?  

Charlotte Mason Family Camp 2023

Registration is now open!  

See photos from previous years here at this short video!  

Follow to this link for registration 

This year our theme is THE PARABLES.  Did you know that Charlotte Mason herself wrote poetry on the parables of Jesus?  We will be focusing more on the writings and time period of Charlotte Mason this year as the parables come to life for us!  As this calendar year was the 100th anniversary of Charlotte Mason's death, you can expect us to celebrate big! 

Each day a morning session for adults is offered while school aged children have their own session.  Afternoons are full of occupations.  Organized handicrafts, boating, hiking the 200 plus acres, swimming in pool or lake, playing games, resting, music, picture study, brush drawing to just name a few of the things that keep us interacting as families together.  Evenings are for book discussions, teen time, bonfires and sky watching.  

Conference fee includes 12 buffet style family meals eaten out of doors.  

This year one of our speakers will be the Reverend Tobias A. Karlowicz SSC, PhD.  Rev. Karlowicz is the Canon Theologian of the Diocese of Quincy and assisting priest at St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church in Peoria, Illinois, where he assists with teaching and pastoral care.

In addition to his pastoral ministry, Fr Karlowicz has taught as an adjunct professor at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Liturgics and in Anglican Church History. He is the author of The Sacramental Vision of Edward Bouverie Pusey, has published in Ecclesiology, and has contributed articles to the Nashotah House blog, The Chapter. His ongoing academic research concerns the theological response to societal and intellectual changes in 19th c. England. Within the Anglican Church in North America, Fr Karlowicz has served on the writing and revisions committees of To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism and on the Theological Task Force on Holy Orders. In addition, he is Cubmaster of a local Cub Scout pack. His wife Becky works for the OSF Healthcare System in Peoria and serves on the board of the Anglican Church Camp of the Midwest.  

To help us understand Mason and her time even more Reverend Karlowicz' presentation to parents during camp will be Anglican Theology during the life of Charlotte Mason: Themes and Influences.  

Join us for some fun on the prairie while we share time as families at MennoHaven campground in Tiskilwa Illinois!  

Registration will close July 14, 2023.  

Charlotte Mason Family Camp 2021

 Hooray!  It’s time to be thinking about warmer days and fun times with your family!  

Registration for the Charlotte Mason Family Camp opens on March 15!  Join other families who embrace the Charlotte Mason philosophy for five days and four nights at MennoHaven campground in Tiskilwa, Illinois.  

This unique camp gives you ample opportunity to nourish friendships with other families, spend time with your own family, be outside in Gods wonderful nature, and rest away from your regular daily duties.  

Each day begins with an opportunity for prayer.   Morning sessions for moms and dads as well as presentations for kids and nature walks fill the first half of the day. The lake and pool are open daily for splashing with your children.  Afternoon occupations include options for handicrafts, science learning, and much more.  All meals are provided.  Days end with bonfires, teen games, star gazing and more.  

Won’t you join us on the prairie?  Enjoy this video about our upcoming camp for 2021 with photos from last year!  

Reading the Volumes of Charlotte Mason

I've been plodding along reading the six volume series by Charlotte Mason for the past 15 years.  My husband thought it was a good investment for me to read Charlotte Mason herself when we first began our homeschooling journey.  I found the books difficult to wade though initially.  The language was archaic to me.  I didn't understand her references to French phrases or know the educational philosophers she referenced.  I valued her understanding of the person and how well rounded her suggestions for homeschooling were.   I wanted to read,  I really did.  But I needed some support.  

Enter a reading group.  A group that was in real life.  One that would read the volumes with me.  There was some trepedation on their part too...so we first read books by other people who gave their opinion about Mason.  And it was a great introduction into the first layer of understanding.  

About 8 years ago we began reading the volumes as a group.  We read Volume 1 and then Volume 6.  And four years ago we began in earnest going through the six volumes-one a year.  This year we are reading through Volume 4-Ourselves.  

I made up a list of the references she mentions.  Sometimes Mason used just a character in a book as a reference without naming the book.  Sometimes she mentions a title.  Sometimes just a line or phrase from a poem.  For those of us who had a basic education, we might have never read poetry on a regular basis.  We might have a very slim history of British literature from before 1897.  That is me for sure!  So I found it took me a lot of time to read alongside a dictionary.  (There was not always google translate in the early 2000's!) Many times I was unable to find the characters or books she was referencing.  But today!  We have access to so much.  You can find many google books available.  

I read the six volumes with an online group for the first time in a quick two years starting in 2016.  This trip through all six volumes gave me a much better overview.  During this time I began making notes and lists of the books she referenced.  I completed many of these lists when I did a second read through of all six books completed in 2019.  I am currently in a third read through of all six books with an online group.  I am still learning and gleaning!  

In 2017, I visited the Lake District and Ambleside for the first time to see for myself what she had experienced when she was writing and lecturing.  It was so fascinating!  I hope you can visit one day too! 

Here I am checking out the lichen that grows on Charlotte Masons grave.  

Here is the list of books referenced in Volume 4 Ourselves book 2.  Enjoy!  I hope you add some of these to your current reading list!  

Making breakfast great (again?)

 I've been sharing with friends that I had gotten into a happy state of letting the kids make their own breakfasts.  They had boundaries of choices-healthy choices.  But I found that as we went through the day people were either hungry very early in the day (9:30-10) or found that they had forgotten completely to make their breakfast!  So I'm mixing it up!  

I have been a strong advocate for a high protein, low sugar, moderate balanced fat breakfast from the beginning.  My husband is happy with some left over veggies and scrambled eggs for breakfast, but the kids were not going for that as much....

This was what I needed:  good amount of protein, low sugar, balanced fat, tasty, easy to cook, ability to make ahead during meal prep the night before, cooks for an hour or less,  and EVERYONE must like it! Is this too much to ask?  

So this month I have chosen to find breakfasts that I can make the night before.  All the prep can be done and all that is left is the heating or baking in the morning.  I like to exercise and pray a bit before the day, so I wanted something that I could pop in the oven before I head out for a walk...or something that takes just a little heat attention.  I wanted the breakfasts to be ready by 7am so we could begin school by 7:30. 

Does this sound like something that you want too?  

Here are the recipes:

Spinach white bean quesadillas

Kale and tomato egg bake

Sweet Potatoes Hash

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Crustless Quiche

Here are the recipes that we tried and the ways they were able to help us get up and get going and stay going until lunch!  Hope they help you too!  

(Should I share like this for our lunches and dinner too?  I have had a few requests for meal planning help.  It can be quite the decision fatigue to make a menu over and over!)

See my stories on IG for photos.  

 

Scouting guildelines: Surveying according to C. Mason with modern helps

 Our local learning community has been working our way slowing through the Scouting Guidelines.  We've had lots of ah-ha moments!  

This term we worked toward the Surverying Guidelines.  

You can help yourself here to the adaptations we made for modern understanding!  

Walking the Camino

Since 2018 I have been dreaming about walking the Camino in Spain.  So many things have kept me from going.  This year (2020) I was most disappointed and decided to begin watching and reading everything I could find available to me to read and watch.  Here is my list I have been working through.  

In July 2020, I chose to walk, very socially distant, camino at home. I decided if I walked 10 miles a day, I could walk nearly the whole way through Spain to St. James grave in one month.  I began with great gusto.  But then realized how much time 10 miles took me away from my duties as a family- nearly four hours.  So I modified it to 5-6 miles.  And some days I rode my bike which reduced my time by half.  

Over all I was able to walk or ride nearly 180 miles in 30 days.  I felt very encouraged to continue and have walked 4-6 miles at least four days a week since.  I'm hoping that my body will be closer to being ready when the border is open for me to travel to Spain one day.  

Here is one day I convinced my children to join me on a long walk.  We came across a wheat field.  Think I will see wheat in Spain?

How about you?  Have you been encouraged or inspired to make something happen (even if it's in your imagination) during this time of COVID?

Here's my epic list.

Anne Carson, "Kinds of Water" (1987). A prose poem that traces the narrator's journey, focusing on the philosophical questions it raises, especially with regards to the nature and desire of the pilgrim. The piece can be found in the anthology of Carson's essays, Plainwater (1995).

Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage (1987)

Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises (1926). Jake's journey from France to the fiesta of San Fermin is an undertaking of the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela.

Jack Hitt, Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route into Spain (1994)

Hape Kerkeling, I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago (2009), on his 2001 voyage. It is the best-selling German-language non-fiction book since Gods, Graves and Scholars (1949).

David Lodge, Therapy (1995)

Shirley MacLaine, The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit (2001)

James Michener, Iberia (1968), contains one chapter about the Camino de Santiago.

Cees Nooteboom, Roads to Santiago (1996, English edition)

Conrad Rudolph, Pilgrimage to the End of the World: The Road to Santiago de Compostela (2004)

• Walter Starkie, The Road to Santiago (1957) John Murray, reprinted 2003.

New Graduate

It's been a different kind of time with a graduate during a time of staying home.  2020 will live down as a time of lots of changes in the way we see our world.  

Our second graduate from highschool occurred during this time.  All of her senior things were cancelled from final concerts, to graduation parties, to performances.  

We were able to reschedule her personal senior recital.  You can watch it here.  It was a delightful day despite a gentle rain which isn't ideal for instruments!

My husband made a little speech for her graduation and gave it at home.    

I'm actually all done wondering why this crisis had to come this year.  I'm just looking forward to more semblance of normal around here in the coming school year.  

Working our way through the Scouting Guidelines

 So we continue with our local learning community to complete the scouting guidelines and work toward tassels.  

This Fall Term 2020 we will work on the surveying guidelines.  We find that it's much more interesting to work on these together and less challenging when we have friends working on the same things!  

Let me know how these work out for you!  

Charlotte Mason Family Camp 2020 Speakers

Our theme of Family Camp this year is Wonder.  Reflect.  Imagine.  Experience.  Each of the speakers/morning sessions will consider a part of this theme.  

On Thursday morning we will have Jason Barney speak on Narration.   

Jason Barney serves as the Academic Dean at Clapham School, a classical Christian school in

Wheaton, IL. In 2012 he was awarded the Henry Salvatori Prize for Excellence in Teaching from

Hillsdale College. He completed his MA in Biblical Exegesis at Wheaton College, where he received The Tenney Award in New Testament Studies. In addition to his administrative responsibilities in vision, philosophy and faculty training, Jason has taught courses in Latin, Humanities, and Senior Thesis from 3rd -12th grades. He regularly speaks at events and conferences, including SCL, ACCS, and nearer home at Clapham School Curriculum Nights and Benefits. He has trained the Lower School

faculty of the Geneva School in Charlotte Mason’s practice of narration in August 2019 and the faculty

of the Ecclesial Schools Institute in August 2020.  Jason blogs regularly on ancient wisdom for the

modern era at www.educationalrenaissance.com, where he has also made available a free eBook on implementing the practice of narration in the classical classroom.

Jason will present:

Cultivating Wonder Through Narration: The What, Why and How of Narration

This practical session will inspire parents to embrace the tool of narration in home education.

First, we will explore what narration is as a learning approach that cultivates students’ wonder,

reflection, imagination and full experience of what they learn. Second, we will delve into some of

the philosophy and modern learning science behind why narration is so effective. Lastly, we will

explore practical tips for implementing narration in the home, like how to set up expectations

well, the varieties of narration, the narration lesson structure, and making the wonder of

narration a way of life. Come ready with your questions about narration, and let’s explore

together the beauty of how our Story-telling God has made us in his image!