Yep, this is pretty much the extent of our vocabulary curriculum. Actually, I would consider this “extra”. Good conversation is all that’s really necessary for a substantial vocabulary. As someone mentioned in the last comment thread, if parents simply speak deliberately–enunciating clearly and being liberal with the words they use, even with the youngest children, there’s no need, as far as I can see, for a formal vocabulary curriculum.

Remember, your children began learning an entire language at birth, and you were their primary teacher.  Their vocabulary continues to grow and I submit it can continue to be taught in the same way you’ve been teaching it since birth.  (If your vocabulary is limited, you can learn alongside them with this small idea.)

Words used throughout the normal flow of the day are much more likely to “stick” than 15 random words on a sheet of paper that the student is supposed to memorize. It goes the same with any piece of information: experience creates context in which information is best retained.

So back to our board: this contains our WOD (word of the day). Sometimes I leave it for a couple of days. The challenge is to use the word as often as possible in the correct way. Sometimes we have a contest to see who can find the most uses for it.

Fun, simple, quick.

A good place from which to glean WODs  is your read-alouds as you come across words that may not be understood. Context is best.

A lifestyle of learning seems to me not only more natural and comprehensive, but easier to implement as a busy mom.

Mary Hood said: “God didn’t create classrooms, He created families.”

The sensibility in that statement meets me as a mom.  Mothers are often overwhelmed by the task of homeschooling because they are trying to run both a family and a school.

What if much of the education of children just happened naturally inside family life?

Especially for little ones, there are many things that can be taught in casual conversation, multi-tasking during a chore, etc.

A few random things we do:

• Sing learning songs together during chores or play time. We’ve been singing the “Months of the Year Song”. We also enjoy singing Scripture this way as well.
• LISTEN. God bestowed the wonderful gift of curiosity into children which, if we are available and ready, can be an important key to knowledge. Hear their questions and be ready to help them find answers, even if you plant seeds by giving them an overview of what you know. I said the word “electricity” yesterday, and my 4-year-old asked, “Who’s ‘Tricity’ “? She wasn’t really interested in electricity, but she listened intently as I explained how it was responsible for turning on things.
• Ask questions. Whatever is in front of us, I try to get into the habit of asking, “Do you know why ……?”
• Do math. Math is everywhere and it makes better sense when it is taught in the context of real life. Even the rote stuff–multiplication tables, for example, can be practiced while we fold laundry or do dishes together.  It just takes remembering to “redeem the time”.
• Make good use of writing opportunities. A card or thank-you note makes a great use of time and energy and can double as language, writing and grammar. It makes better sense to have a reason for writing when possible. After all, the only reason grammar, spelling and language matter is so we can communicate our thoughts to others.

Sometimes I just need to revisit the reasons we educate in the first place. Learning can take many forms. Don’t be afraid to tailor it to your season of life, not only giving yourself a break if you can’t duplicate a classroom, but possibly even finding that it’s better that way.

What are some of your “real-life” learning strategies?

Joel McDurmon, great friend and frequent speaker at our church, logically argues against Dawkin’s comment.

My favorite part:

“Theology–Christianity, begins in the bedroom.”

“I’m going to be completely honest here:

Some of us have a huge bias when it comes to arguments about education.

You know the kids I’m talking about.

They’ve been educated in an echo chamber, a place where the curriculum is a unified effort to teach them one way to think.

They learn to view the world through a single lens: the worldview that they’re being taught.

They don’t live in the real world.

They’ve been told what to think and how to act from a young age; their responses to certain stimuli are deeply ingrained in them. And because of all of this, they’re biased. When they speak, they’re often just parroting what they’ve been taught….”

Read the rest at Joyfully Home

There is little more humbling than hearing one’s self recorded (especially when one’s self is from the South ).   Nevertheless, I was grateful to spend some time yesterday talking to Kevin Swanson on his radio program Generations With Vision, about family economics, sharing a little about our home business and how it all started.  (There was so much of I thought of later that I would have liked to talk about, but it was a very spontaneous interview.)

I think you’ll enjoy Kevin’s dynamic passion for family enterprise.

You can listen to it at Generations With Vision, if you promise to remember that my gift is writing, not speaking

And you’re up for the challenge. So before I go tackle my ginormous to-do list, I thought I’d offer you the same encouragement and tips I’m trying to give myself (some of these came from my husband):

Regarding the house:

• Drink your coffee first (unless you’re trying to give it up, in which case, I have no idea how to encourage you there.)

• Tackle one room or area at a time. THIS is a hard one. You know the routine. You pick up an item from the kitchen and take it where it belongs and alas, that room is a disaster too, so you busily begin cleaning there. Resist the urge. My husband suggested that I take the stray item to the room it belongs and wait to put it up until I get to that room. Another tip is to have a box for stray items and just place them in that as you go through a room.

• Create a place for everything.

• If you have children, delegate. But be specific, because it is overwhelming to them too. Let the littlest ones be your “go-fers” taking trash and stray objects to their place. Give one a trash bag and make it their job to collect all the trash, or a basket to collect stray items, etc.

• Purge, purge like never before. This is the time to get rid of things you know just take up space. I try to remind myself that as soon as I toss it, I won’t remember it anymore.

• If you homeschool…give yourself a “reorganizing vacation”. Don’t feel the pressure to rush back to school until you’ve gotten everything under control. School time will be far more productive and pleasant if you’ll allow yourself that time. If you still feel pressure, maintain your daily reading and wait on the more stressful subjects.

Regarding your health:

• Change in baby steps. Add an extra glass of water to your diet (maybe switching at meal time).

• Find a good multi-vitamin. Research on line and ask around. Getting the proper nutrition is important to having the energy to accomplish all we must do in a day!

• Find some kind of exercise you will do. More than ever, at my “older” age, I’m realizing how important it is to exercise. For Christmas I asked for a mini-trampoline. Read about the benefits of rebounding to see why I was so excited to get it. Not only does exercise do the obvious for your health, but it improves your mood and sense of well-being. Who of us couldn’t use that?

• Just adding fruits, nuts and vegetables to your current diet is a great step. Make a glass of fruit juice or vitamin-enriched drink part of your morning routine.

Regarding your finances:

• Despite how painful it can be, a written budget is really the only way to stay on top of finances. We have found too, that the more variable your income, the more important it is to write out a yearly budget. For us, the bulk of our income comes in the summer. So unless we plan to spread it out over the year, we find ourselves lacking in the winter months. Dave Ramsey has the best resources I know of and I would encourage you to check out The Total Money Makeover–it was a life-changing book for us…truly.

• Actually use your budget Ramsey suggests the practical method of an envelope system. Whatever you have allotted for a certain category (food, clothing, entertainment), spend that and no more.

• Start a change jar. This is a very simple, painless way to save a little extra money for a rainy day. We’ve done this for years–sticking our spare change in a jar, and it adds up in a hurry. Think of something to save for and write it on the jar and get everybody involved!

• Learn to sell on eBay or Amazon. With a little forethought, extra cash throughout the year can be earned by selling items around the house. You could designate a specific savings goal for your eBay selling.

Regarding your spiritual life:

• Make a sermon part of your day. Or at least, every few days. With the convenience of Sermon Audio and similar sites, getting spiritually fed has never been easier. A few of my favorites: Voddie Baucham, John Piper, David Platt, Paul Washer, Ravi Zacharias, Alistair Begg, Joe Morecraft, Mark Driscoll…to name a few.

• Make Bible reading a priority. Even if you don’t get up early enough for quiet time, gathering the children around to read a portion of Scripture daily is not only a great spiritual benefit, but it paves the groundwork for habits in their own lives for years to come.

Other random tips:

• Commit to reading a spiritually-challenging book once a month.

• Make a list of character traits you would like to improve, and begin praying, being deliberate and working toward those. (For me, cultivating a gentle spirit is at the top of my list.)

• Engage your children in more thoughtful discussion. Remind yourself that discussion is a primary means of education–and it can happen anywhere!

• Determine to be a blessing to your husband. So often this gets overlooked. But it should be a priority!!!! A family where the husband and wife are a team, where they cultivate friendship–that’s a family that will thrive. Just a sincere word of gratitude can go a long way toward being a “crown” to your husband. You are the one person given to him to be his cheerleader. Encourage his strengths, and do not focus on his weaknesses. (It helps me, when I tend to want to dwell on his weaknesses, to redirect my thoughts to my own weaknesses. Wow. Changes perspective quickly.)

• Add laughter. This has been on my mind a lot lately. Life can really squelch out the fun if we let it. Adding a bit of laughter can change the quality of everyone’s life! Find something to laugh about…make jokes with each other, smile at your children’s antics. Nothing is so important that it has to squash our joy!

What are your tips or words of encouragement as we begin the new year? What are some things you are purposing to change?

“The mother is qualified,” says Pestalozzi, “and qualified by the Creator Himself, to become the principal agent in the development of her child; … and what is demanded of her is––a thinking love ….Maternal love is the first agent in education.”

We are waking up to our duties and in proportion as mothers become more highly educated and efficient, they will doubtless feel the more strongly that the education of their children during the first six years of life is an undertaking hardly to be entrusted to any hands but their own. And they will take it up as their profession––that is, with the diligence, regularity, and punctuality which men bestow on their professional labours.”

I have found that many, many homeschooling moms want one thing:  “Just tell me what to do!“  I’ve heard new homeschooling moms tell of their frustration because a veteran mom wouldn’t give her a detailed plan to follow.

I understand both sides.  If you are one of those new homeschooling moms, it can be downright scary to suddenly find yourself solely responsible for the education of your children.  Especially with so many people waiting to see how you do   It’s natural to want a fool-proof plan!

But those who have homeschooled for a while know the danger in submitting a one-size-fits-all prescription.  Homeschooling is not the same as a school program where everything does look similar, and all the students are squeezed into one mold.  But we consider this an advantage and we want you to capitalize on that freedom too, not “hindering” you by offering a plan that may work for us but stifle you!

Still, we all really do need to have a guideline, at best, and sometimes it’s helpful to see another schedule or see how someone else fits a certain style into a workable daily plan.

If you would like to try to implement the Charlotte Mason method, you may consider looking at the following general guideline, but be sure to make it work with your family, your style and your time demands.  Don’t forget…this is your freedom and there are many, many ways to properly educate a child!

Note: We aim to center most of our reading around a certain time period and study that time period for a while.  Finding a good history book in a narrative form is a great place to start in pulling together your daily plan.  You can also coordinate your artist and composer studies within that historical period.

Sample daily plan for the Charlotte Mason method:

Monday-Thursday:

Breakfast-30 minutes

Morning reading (gauge time to fit your ages…we let little ones color/play blocks, and older ones draw during this time):

• Bible
• Book #1 read aloud–Could be a selected history book or missionary biography (this is what we are using for geography), or any other read aloud.
• Poetry reading (some find it helpful to read from an anthology, but poetry could be gleaned from any source)

Morning Chores-1 hour

Having a simple chart for each child to check off helps alleviate repeating and thinking about who needs to do what.  Revisit chore responsibilities every few months if needed.

Seat Work

In our home, this means the three older ones do math, English, copy work and silent reading.  Right now this silent reading covers science, and the two below my oldest are reading from Christian Liberty Press’ Nature Readers.  (They will narrate after lunch.)  The 6-year-old practices writing letters (general writing book) and reads aloud to me from her readers (CLP readers)

Little ones can color, be read to, play, etc. during this time.

Lunch

Sometimes I read to them from a poem or another selected book during lunch; sometimes I just try to keep the peanut butter out of hair

Naps/Reading/Narration

Any seat work not finished gets done during this time, along with narration from science readers.

Book #2 read aloud–I usually choose a book for this time that is a bit more advanced since the little ones are napping.

Silent reading.  This book is one each reading child has picked, with my help, to read on his own.

(Also my blogging time if time permits.)

Play time/projects.

This time may include one of the girls making bread for supper or helping the oldest with a sewing project. I try to encourage something productive. Legos count as productive. And on a rainy day, productive might be an educational video

Afternoon pick up before supper.

Friday

Nature Study

Picture Study

Composer Study

“Composer study” is not planned in; we simply listen to different composer, randomly throughout the week.  But it is helpful on Friday to discuss a selected composer, his background, his era and geographical details.

This is a guide to us.  It doesn’t mean we follow it strictly.  From my personal experience, if we feel the need to strictly follow anything, it squelches spontaneous learning opportunities which are sometimes the best ones.  If we get “off track” while studying one thing to study another, I don’t think of it as “off track” at all.

It helped me to construct our daily plan by writing down a list of everything I wanted to get done, and then find a place to fit it in.  We change our schedule fairly often, as well, adjusting to family changes.

I will officially end the CM series here.  But we’ve only scratched the surface!!!  I would urge you to get your hands on the “Charlotte Mason Original Homeschool Series” (I think you can find the entire manuscript on line) and dig in.  She has a wealth of information about all things parenting and children and I have found it an invaluable resource!

Part 2 discussed the importance of “living books” in the CM homeschool, and the next cornerstone is the practice of copy work, narration and dictation. These exercises have proven excellent tools in teaching spelling, grammar, punctuation and composition. It can, for all practical purposes, replace a standard grammar, spelling and writing curriculum.

Copy work.

“The purpose of copywork is to get into the child’s visual (and motor) memory the look and feel of a sentence that is correctly composed, and properly spelled, spaced, and punctuated.” (The Well Trained Mind)

Copy work was a common practice for centuries. Even Hebrew kings were required to make hand-written copies of the Scriptures. It’s important to understand the dynamics and benefits of copy work–it’s not just busy work!

“By and large, the greatest writers in the English language developed their writing skills through copywork and narration. Neither Shakespeare nor Jane Austen ever enrolled in a creative writing course; Dickens never studied journalism; Robert Louis Stevenson did not take classes in How to Write for Children (or for anyone else, for that matter)! Living before the invention of photocopy machines and computers, anything they wanted to keep a written record of, had to be copied down by hand: so copywork was a normal part of everyday life. Our children obviously live in a different age, but if we hope for them to become great writers, we can do no better than provide them with the same kind of training as these, and other, writers of the past.” (From Wonder to Wisdom)

Copy work is very easy to implement…students can copy from a selected passage in a book, from a poem or from Scripture. The main goal of copy work is to make sure he copies exactly what is written–perfectly. The quality is more important than the quantity, but the amount copied can be steadily increased as the child progresses.  Obviously, the quality of the passage he copies is important as well.

Narration.

Narration is simply the “telling back” of what the child has read. Narration has important implications in teaching the child to retain information, develop his thoughts, and learn to articulate those thoughts.

Narration should not be critiqued too much, especially at first. The child should feel free to share what he learned from his reading, even if it doesn’t seem like much or what you would have gathered from it. Asking questions is the best way to draw out more information. If the child doesn’t read yet, he can still narrate from selections you have read aloud.

Sometimes it’s helpful to show a child what you want in a narration. Simply read a selection and then say, “I’m going to narrate for you.”

Dictation.

Dictation is practiced once the child has a good grasp of writing through copy work. Dictation is writing down a selection that is read out loud. One important part of dictation is that you correct mistakes quickly, as they are made. If words are allowed to be misspelled, he could have a hard time breaking those spelling habits.

Dictation is best utilized by taking a selection, having the student read it through a few times, discussing any problem areas of grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc., and then proceeding with the dictation. When you read the selection, you should make natural breaks where there is punctuation, but not tell where the punctuation goes.

After the selection is copied, you just talk about any problem areas, perhaps having them dictate the words again the correct way. Any words misspelled could be copied several times with the correct spelling.

When we first learned of the Charlotte Mason method, we began just by implementing copywork. I’ve now learned more about the depth and richness of these practices, and would encourage you to try them for yourself. It actually takes some faith to believe in what appears to be such a simple exercise, but that faith will take on flesh after a while!

I would challenge moms feeling this pressure to first ask themselves a few questions:

• Who is setting your pace?

If the answer is “the curriculum guide”, remember that no curricula can fit your family’s needs exactly, and because you are the only one who knows your children’s individual needs, you reserve the right to override the guide. (Oooh…I like the sound of that–chant it in a sing/songy kind of way and let it become your mantra )There are advantages to “school in a box” but you must remember that no child is really “in a box” and tailor it accordingly. Let them be who they are in terms of speed and learning ability. This is precisely why the classroom model is weak….it is tailored to “the average child” and there is really no such thing. One of the very big advantages of homeschooling is so we DON’T have to usher the kids through an academic maze in the same time everyone else does it. Utilize your freedom!

• Who defines “being behind”?

A question related to the first, let’s do a little de-programming.  Because most of us went through the system, we think in terms of grade levels, school years, and chunks of time.  In school, if we didn’t finish a certain subject in a given time period, we were “behind” because it was necessary to keep everyone at the same pace.  Not superior, mind you, just necessary.

Time frames and schedules are good and necessary for all of us.  But they shouldn’t rule us.  Education and the learning process doesn’t have parameters.  We can learn in the evening just as well as in the morning if need be.  We can learn about the Civil War in the fourth grade or the tenth, and we’re none the worse for it.  What we didn’t do today, we can do tomorrow and it’s OK!

• What are your goals?

Do we simply want to check off an assignment, finish a book or complete “a grade”?  Or do we want our children to learn, to retain the natural curiosity that causes them to see everything around them as a “classroom”? I know when I was in school, it was really just about jumping through the hoops to get a grade to complete the year to be able to graduate.  And if we’re honest, did we really retain the majority of the information we were given?

I want my schedule, my lessons, my textbooks to be servants, not slaves.  It may take a constant reminder of our purpose in homeschooling, but we owe it to our children to attempt to inspire in them a love for learning, not a contempt of “school” where it’s all about getting done.

Practically speaking…

Some moms need more structure than others, for sure.  And I am a strong believer in structure.  I am going to throw out for you how we handle schedules just for your consideration.  Again, every family is different and I think it’s so important to make your homeschool work for you and not try to emulate someone else.

We simply start in the front of a book, whether it’s a text book or a reading book, and we do what I feel is a reasonable amount each day for each child.  If we have to miss a certain subject for a certain day, we just pick up where we left off.  We don’t try to double up.  We school year-round, so technically speaking, we can afford to miss quite a few days of our text book work.  We don’t really even keep up with “grades” simply because I don’t see how it serves a real purpose as it does in a school setting.  I asses which grade level each child is on and purchase materials accordingly.  One may be ready for 4th grade math but still need 3rd grade English.  They may be reading 6th grade level books, so it would be more of a burden to try to keep up with grades.  (And I keep asking myself, “why” do we need to be in a certain grade?)

This alleviates any stress from feeling “behind”, and truthfully, we probably cover more than is standard in a year simply because of the dynamics of the year-round schedule and being able to do more with fewer children.

One more hint…

Lots of things are taught in text books because a child in a classroom doesn’t have another option for learning them.  Learning how to tell time, for example, doesn’t require worksheets.  It makes much more sense to a child to learn it in a real setting.  All three of my oldest children learned to tell time by asking me about the clock when they wanted to know the time.  I don’t ever remember even announcing, “OK, today we’re going to learn to tell time”. The same with counting money, liquid measurements, and many others similar concepts.  Even with reading, it was simply a matter of teaching letters, sounds, then “sounding out” the letters together.  I have never even used a phonics curriculum to teach any of my children to read and they all read very well.

Sometimes just looking at things more practically can free us up from those pre-conceived ideas about how things must be done.  And believing…believing that God has already done an amazing thing inside those little brains, and that you are well-equipped to lead them to the answers they need at the right time!

It’s just too good not to share, so I thought I’d do a series on the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling.  I would encourage you, whatever type of homeschooler you are, to consider implementing at least some of the basic concepts Mason taught. From the most structured to the most relaxed, any homeschool can benefit from her wisdom.  (And perhaps Charlotte’s method may be just the thing you need for the confidence to BEGIN homeschooling.)

Charlotte Mason, the British educator of  the late 19th century, taught from a three-pronged philosophy: 

Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.

“By “Atmosphere,” Charlotte meant the surroundings in which the child grows up. A child absorbs a lot from his home environment. Charlotte believed that atmosphere makes up one-third of a child’s education.

By “Discipline,” Charlotte meant the discipline of good habits — and specifically habits of character. Cultivating good habits in your child’s life make up another third of his education.

The other third of education, “Life,” applies to academics. Charlotte believed that we should give children living thoughts and ideas, not just dry facts. So all of her methods for teaching the various school subjects are built around that concept.”

~Simply Charlotte Mason

So many of us want a detailed “just tell me what to do” plan.  And probably most homeschooling methods can be put into detail, but it’s crucial that we first understand the philosophy behind the education we wish to implement.

To flesh out the CM philosophy just a bit more:

“Charlotte emphasized treating each child as a person, not as a container into which you dump information. She believed that all children should receive a broad education, which she likened to spreading a feast of great ideas before them. Charlotte encouraged parents to have an active role in teaching and training their children in academics, fine arts, faith, citizenship, and habits of character….

And I love her foundational approach to parenting…this would have been her advice to a homeschooling parent asking “how can I prepare my young children for school?”

“Charlotte Mason outlined two chief duties for parents.

1. “To form in his child right habits of thinking and behaving is a parent’s chief duty” (Vol. 2, p. 228).  Molding and shaping your child’s character with good habits is your first priority. If your day is too crowded to allow you time to stop and deal with bad habits, it’s too crowded.
2. “To nourish a child daily with loving, right, and noble ideas we believe to be the parent’s next duty” (Vol. 2, p.   228).  Feed your child’s mind with good and right ideas every day. Remember that a child soaks up a lot from his surroundings. So make sure everything you give him is wholesome and nourishing, including the atmosphere in which he grows. Feed his mind on what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, excellent, virtuous, praise-worthy.”

~Simply Charlotte Mason

We could talk about these few fundamental concepts all day, couldn’t we?

As I take a sweeping glance across the culture at our young people, I see blaring evidence of children who have not been nurtured, who have not been treated like valuable, growing individuals, who have not had parents daily building habits of character, who have not been given wholesome atmospheres full of “living thoughts and ideas”.  Charlotte Mason resurrects the idea for us that children are worth investing our lives in.