"The Tower of Lon-geon"

Proud Charlotte Mason mama moment: 

When your daughter, during free time, creates a “Tower of Lon-geon” (London + dungeon) out of Lego, complete with 2 hangings and Good Queen Bess locked inside! Also, it is a working candy dispenser!! 

High marks for creativity and historical content. 

Overheard the same afternoon:

J: Is that Queen Mary?
A: Yes.
J: Are you going to hang her?
A: No. Well, actually yes.
J: Yeah, she's Bloody Mary.
A: Actually I'll put her in the Tower. ... This is Good Queen Bess over here. 
...

Why I can't get this kind of detail in required narrations I don't know, but it's heartening to know it's in their brains somewhere! :D 

A Large Room: Reviving Neglected Corners

This blog has been on my mind lately. I've neglected it, due in some part to lack of inspiration or purpose. Many days I have the urge to share an aspect of our home education journey, or capture a small moment of our home life. I haven't known what to do with them, or perhaps how to frame them.

When I first started this blog, I was a newlywed, living in a tiny apartment over a clothing store on a historic Ontario mainstreet. The name "Little Hearth" came from my desire to kindle a meaningful and beautiful home life, no matter how small our space.

Once we moved to Prince Edward Island, got a bit of land and a big old house, had a few kids, and started homeschooling, I expanded the name to "Little Hearth and Homestead." We were trying our hand at some basic homesteading activities - chickens, gardening, pigs. We enjoyed those things, but I find our focus has now shifted. The "Homestead" part of the name didn't fit into my big picture in the same way, at least in terms of blogging. "Little Hearth" on its own didn't quite do the trick either.

What next?

Well, I've been reading Karen Glass' book Consider This, a treatment of Charlotte Mason's place in the tradition of classical education. Today I read in Chapter 5 about Mason's "science of relations," which has to do with her "captain idea" of synthetic thinking - the ability to place things and thoughts within a wider picture of the world. It's all about the student forming relationships within an interconnected, ordered whole.

Glass quotes a paragraph by Mason which I've read before, but which met me today with a certain freshness. This is it:


"Children make large demands upon us. We owe it to them to initiate an immense number of interests. 'Thou has set my feet in a large room,' should be the glad cry of every intelligent soul. Life should be all living, and not merely a tedious passing of time; not all doing or all feeling or all thinking - the strain would be too great - but all living; that is to say, we should be in touch wherever we go, whatever we hear, whatever we see, with some manner of vital interest. We cannot give the children these interests; we prefer that should never say they have learned botany or conchology, geology or astronomy. The question is not, - how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education - but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he find his feet set? and therefore, how full is the life he has before him?" 

(Charlotte Mason, School Education, p. 170-71)


This is what captured me - the large room. What a beautiful picture for the goal set before us. As soon as I read it, I scribbled a note in the margin of the book: Little Hearth & Large Room.

Little Hearth - I am still one small woman, striving to kindle and tend the flame of our home life. A life sparked by God's own love and goodness, a life which provides warmth and cheer for our family, a life that may bring light to others.

Large Room - This is the spacious place God has, in his grace, given us to roam. This is what education is all about - preparing and inviting our children to participate in the fullest life possible. This is our humble effort to implement the universal principles Charlotte Mason was so adept at expressing.

So it is with these thoughts in mind that I am reviving this corner of the blogosphere. It is a continuation of what has gone before, with hopes of sharing more living yet to come.

"He brought me out into a spacious place; 
he rescued me because he delighted in me."

Psalm 18:19

Parents and Children: Chapter 7

From Charlotte Mason's The Original Home Schooling Series, Parents and Children (Vol. 2)

Chapter 7: The Parent as Schoolmaster

Here is my narration of Chapter 7, and some of my thoughts. (Read my thoughts on Chapter 6 here.) Charlotte Mason continues to talk about the responsibilities and role of parents.

Get a Backbone!

Mason begins this chapter by talking about the expectation that the "schoolmaster," or teacher, will make children "sit up" once they get to school. There are parents who believe, for a number of well-intentioned reasons, that children should be allowed what amounts to free reign until the time comes for a teacher to make them behave in a school setting.

However, Mason challenges this idea, wondering how on earth the teacher is supposed to make the child "sit up," or behave, "after a good deal of mental and moral sprawling about at home" (pg. 60).

The success (and pleasure) a teacher has with a child at school, depends in large part on the self-management the child has learned in the home. She uses the example of a backbone to illustrate, rather humorously, the point.

"No suasion will make you 'sit up' if you are an oyster; no, nor even if you are a cod. You must have a backbone, and your backbone must have learned its work before sitting up is possible to you. No doubt the human oyster may grow a backbone, and the human cod may get into the way of sitting up, and some day, perhaps, we shall know of the heroic endeavours made by schoolmaster and mistress to prop up, and haul up, and draw up, and anyhow keep alert and sitting up, creatures whose way it is to sprawl." (pg. 61-62)

In the end, Mason believes it is the parents' role to develop this backbone from the beginning. Otherwise the teacher is left with remedial work, which will be far less satisfying and far less successful.

Mason also notes a difference between mechanical habits and earlier "vital" habits. A school may give a child a certain structure, and certain habits, but these are merely social props, and will only be of use as long as the child is in school. Without the social props, children will revert back to earlier habits. No, she argues, children need to be "put under discipline from infancy" (pg. 62).

Don't Be Like This Guy

She then uses the example of Edward Waverley from Scott's novel Waverley as an example of "mental sprawling."

Waverley acquired knowledge "in a slight, flimsy, and inadequate manner." He was not moved to knowledge by natural curiosity, but needed strong gratification. He had neither alertness of mind nor self-restraint. "He does nothing to carve out a way for himself, and he does everything to his own hindrance out of the pure want of the power of self-direction" (pg. 63).

I really like how Mason puts the crux of the matter. Waverley was brilliant, "but 'I ought' had waited upon 'I like' from his earliest days."Ouch.

Waverley was spoiled. The failure in his personal life was a result of the failure in his education.

Parents Can't Pass the Buck

Mason is adamant that parents cannot leave it to others to bring their children up properly.   Parents must "give their children the discipline which results in self-compelling power" (pg. 64). What is more, there is a limited window of time to learn this power of self-direction and self-mastery! If the child hasn't grown a backbone by the time they get to school, they won't likely grow one there either.

The early years are not the time to leave children to "nature," and trust time to turn everything out alright in the end. Discipline begins at the beginning. The kingdom of nature is not enough. All children have an inheritance in the kingdom of grace, which implies training in virtue. Parents must plant and foster the fruits of this second kingdom.

That is what discipline is.

Education is a Discipline

Mason says the first function of parents is that of discipline. This responsibility cannot be fobbed off on teachers.

Mason also says education is a discipline. And what is discipline? Certainly it is not penal punishment, which is "the last resort of the feeble." Such punishment is only a tiny part of the picture, and shouldn't even be necessary if we are doing the rest of discipline right. (There's a convicting thought.)

A clear definition of education is key.

Education is not the acquiring of knowledge. Rather, education should "deal curatively and methodically with every flaw in character" (p.g 66). Education is essentially the cultivation of character. And this cannot be left to chance, to life circumstances, or to a schoolmaster. It's the job of the parent.

Defining Discipline

Discipline is not punishment.

Discipline is a state of being - a state of following, learning, imitating. And God has ordered the world so that children are first of all disciples of their parents. Now, all good disciple makers should have a plan for instilling certain principles in their disciples. There should be "steady progress on a careful plan" (67).

Disciples aren't made by force. There are 3 ways disciples are "lured" (haha, love the word):
1. By the attraction of the doctrine
2. By the persuasion of the presentation
3. By the enthusiasm of the (other?) disciples

So, "the parent has teachings of the perfect life which he knows how to present continually with winning force until the children are quickened with such zeal for virtue and holiness as carries them forward with leaps and bounds" (67).

Well, that sounds nice, doesn't it? Simple? Sure, no problem...

All you have to do to make your little sweetie a partaker of the Divine nature is there in the summary of 2 Peter 1:5-7. Just cultivate faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, kindness and love, systematically!

BUT HOW???

Ah yes, Mason says, that's too big of a topic for this chapter! (No kidding.)

Well then. Read on.

She does offer a little gem of wisdom at the end, in reminding parents that "every quality has its defect, every defect has its quality" (67). She encourages parents to examine their children, and see which high places need to be lowered, and which valleys need to be raised. She talks about this sort of examination earlier in the chapter, where if a certain character defect is noted in a child turning 5, the parent should put a plan in place to deal with this by the child's next birthday (and not assume the child will simply grow out of it).

It's a good reminder to be paying attention to our children's progress in their life of discipleship. We need to be mindful, and intentional. One of the driving thoughts of this chapter is that disciples don't make themselves. Discipline must be purposeful and continual.

~~~

So, if I could sum this chapter up for me in a few memorable statements, I might say:

Give your child a backbone.
Education is the cultivation of character.
Parents need to be purposeful disciple-makers.

But this disciple-making task really does seem huge when I think of it. Education is not a part time pastime. It's not something we check off for the day when we put the school books away. It encompasses all of life. All of parenting. All of family culture. Education is cultivating and curating virtuous character. And that is no small thing. (I suppose that's why there are 6 volumes to this whole home education series??)

The ultimate goal of Christian disciple making is participation in the Divine nature. I went back to 2 Peter 1 (which Mason doesn't actually reference directly, assuming her readers will know the passage she is referring to) for some context around those verses. That is also where the phrase "a partaker of the Divine nature" that she references on pg. 67 comes from. What was most encouraging to me at this moment, however,  was found in verse 3.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.

It's not my power that will accomplish this. Yes, God has given me the task, and I need to be purposeful and faithful. But the power comes from Him! That is a good thought to rest in when it all seems too big for me.

Mason's Parents and Children: Chapter 6

I'm going to try writing out some of my thoughts from Charlotte Mason's book Parents and Children, which is Volume 6 of The Original Home Schooling Series. I am reading this right now along with our Charlotte Mason study/support group. We began the volume last September, and are slow reading our way through it at a rate of one chapter a month. I'm hoping this "narration" will help cement the ideas in the long term storage section of my brain!

Chapter 6: Parents as Inspirers - Primal ideas derived from parents

This is the fourth and final chapter dealing with the role parents as inspirers. To review:

Chapter 3: Parents as Inspirers - Children must be born again into the Life of Intelligence
Chapter 4: Parents as Inspirers - The Life of the Mind grows upon Ideas
Chapter 5: Parents as Inspirers - The Things of the Spirit

Mason states throughout these chapters that the highest role of parents is as revealers of God to their children. In the previous chapter, Mason outlined some of the things we shouldn't be doing as parents, especially in regard to fortifying them against doubt. (Review of what not to do: leave them to time and chance, or fortify them with proofs and evidences in such a way that their faith and the truth rests on these. What we need to do instead is give them both a hold of vital truth and an outlook on current thought, so they are equipped to navigate the doubts when they arise.)

"To bring the human race, family by family, child by child, out of the savage and inhuman desolation where He is not, into the light and warmth and comfort of the presence of God, is, no doubt, the chief thing we have to do in the world." (pg. 50)

This is our chief work, our most momentous work, our highest function as parents. Parents are the primary agents of God's work in the world.

We do this work through the instrumentality of ideas. (Mason is big on the power of the idea, almost as a living thing. When she says that "education is a life," she means primarily the life of ideas. It is ideas which set the course for thought and action.) Knowing this, we must be careful both in our choice of ideas (the what), and the conveyance of ideas (the how).

As an example, she takes a popular idea of her day - that the Bible should be read to children first as a human book, to be read as history, poetry, hero stories, etc., and then slowly move up from this human take to a divine understanding. She thinks this is a mistake however, and that the Bible should be presented from the beginning as divine and therefore authoritative.

Next she goes on to talk about the limits of reason and the importance of primary ideas. Basically, if children get the wrong primal idea about something from the start, they will go on and follow that idea to its "reasonable" and "logical" conclusion. Mason then gives an excursus on how just this thing happened with the crucifixion of Jesus. It was perfectly "reasonable" for the Jews to put Jesus to death, given their system of thought, and the ideas that they had grown up with as children. The error did not come in to play in the crucifixion, rather, the error lay in the primal idea that religion was to serve the nation. This shows how "reason," once it seizes upon an idea, will carry that on to its inevitable and "logical" conclusion. The crucifixion was perfectly "reasonable," and indeed seemed "right" to the Jews, given the ideas that fed into that action.

"The Crucifixion was the logical and necessary outcome of ideas imbibed from their cradles by the persecuting Jews. So of every persecution; none is born of the occasion and the hour, but comes out of the habit of thought of a lifetime." (pg. 54)

All this to say, that it is of vital importance to get the primal ideas right in the first place! (And though she doesn't refer again to the earlier "current" approach to Scripture, we can infer that she rejects it on this basis. If Scripture really is divine and authoritative, it should be presented that way from the start.)

And where do these primal ideas mainly come from? Why, parents of course! (Only in our day and age, that may not be largely the case. Which is a whole other discussion.)

"It is the primal impulse to habits of thought which children must owe to their parents; and, as a man's thought and action Godward is 'The very pulse of the machine,' the introduction of such primal ideas as shall impel the soul to God is the first duty and highest privilege of parents." (pg. 54)

There is great power in these ideas that are formed from the cradle, where they actually become part of the atmosphere of the child's early life. Parents are educating their children in the ways of God right from the start with atmosphere, discipline of habit, and the life of ideas.

Mason then goes on to talk about some of first approaches to God in a child's life. She talks about the importance of:

1. Regular morning and evening prayer. "Nothing could be more suitable and more beautiful than these morning and evening approaches to God, the little children brought to him by their mothers." (pg. 55)

2. Parents praying out loud in front of children throughout the day. Mason thinks more can be done by a mother communing out loud with God, "so that the children might grow up in the sense of the presence of God" which would lead to "glad and natural living in the recognized presence of God." (pg. 55)

3. Outspoken gratitude. In particular, voicing our thanksgiving is a powerful practice that children will pick up from parents. If we speak out our joys and gratitude, children will too.

4. Using endearing terms in prayer. Mason believes children should use familiar, endearing language in their prayers, so that we don't put up a barrier between them and God. She suggests using "Dear God" as an address. "Let children grow up aware of the constant, immediate, joy-giving, joy-taking Presence in the midst of them." (pg. 57) Knowing God intimately as a loving Father will protect them against many temptations of "infidelity."

5. The "Shout of a King."  By this she means children growing up with a sense of God as King in their midst. Even in her time, she laments the loss of this concept in modern civilization. (How much more is this true in our day.) I would classify this as one of the "primal ideas" that Mason talks about. From this idea flows a host of other ideas and attitudes -

"There are, in this poor stuff we call human nature, founts of loyalty, worship, passionate devotion, glad service, which have, alas! to be unsealed in the earth-laden older heart, but only ask place to flow from the child's. There is no safeguard and no joy like that of being under orders, being possessed, controlled, continually in the service of One whom it is gladness to obey.  ... [A] king, a leader, implies warfare, a foe, victory - possible defeat and disgrace. And this is the conception of life which cannot too soon be brought before children." (pg. 57)

She then goes on to talk about how children know what it means to be in this fight of light vs. darkness, good vs. evil, Christ vs. the devil. Children have a keen sense of their sin and their need. Their little hearts need healing as much as ours. In light of this, "they should live in the instant healing, in the dear Name, of the Saviour of the World." (pg. 59)

~~~

A few things stand out to me in this chapter. Namely,

1) the parents' role in cultivating an ongoing atmosphere of the presence of God in the home,

2) and the importance of the primal idea of the "shout of the king."

The first presupposes that the mother is practicing the presence of God herself, and then opens this reality to invite her children in with her. These things are "caught" just as much as "taught." The presence of God is THE foundational atmosphere and underlying reality for all Christian education.

The second is definitely an unusual concept in our day and age. I'm sure the language would make many, even Christians, uncomfortable. It is inspiring to me though. I've experienced this in my own life. I'd like to be more intentional somehow about this in our home. I know part of it is atmosphere, and atmosphere comes from the primal idea. So this is probably something I need to contemplate more in my own life, and it will ooze out from there.

Moms Need Wonder Too

"Wonder" is a word that is part of my foundational philosophy of education. When I think about the ideal childhood, it is one that allows lots of room for wonder.

Charlotte Mason herself used the term when she describes the outdoor life of children. It is something she believed was essential in the child's development generally, and more specifically in their encounters with the the natural world.

On page 44 of Volume 1, she speaks of the need for children to be let alone for much of their time outside, in order,

"to take in what they can of the beauty of earth and heavens; for of the evils of modern education few are worse than this - that the perpetual cackle of his elders leaves the poor child not a moment of time, nor an inch of pace, wherein to wonder - and grow." 

I think that wonder is a foundational posture for education. For me, wonder encompasses receptivity, humility, and curiosity.

In a sense, it is a child's natural, God-given disposition to the world. It can be crushed, or it can be cultivated. It is part of the atmosphere of education, and it is a powerful tool indeed. Wonder opens us up to new observations, new encounters, and new ideas.

A case study for wonder can be found on pages 53-54. Mason quotes Leigh Hunt when speaking about the child's study of flowers, and I think the section is worth re-quoting here:

'"Suppose," says Leigh Hunt, "suppose flowers themselves were new! Suppose they had just come into the world, a sweet reward for some new goodness . . . Imagine what we should feel when we saw the first lateral stem bearing off from the main one, and putting forth a leaf. How we should watch the leaf gradually unfolding its little graceful hand; then another, then another; then the main stalk rising and producing more; then one of them giving indications of the astonishing novelty - a bud! then this mysterious bud gradually unfolding like the leaf, amazing us, enchanting us, almost alarming us with delight, as if we knew not what enchantment were to ensue, till at length, in all its fairy beauty, and odorous voluptuousness, and mysterious elaboration of tender and living sculpture, shines forth the blushing flower."'

"The flowers, it is true, are not new; but the children are; and it is the fault of their elders if every new flower they come upon is not to them a ... mystery of beauty to be watched from day to day with unspeakable awe and delight.' [...] All this is stale knowledge to older people, but one of the secrets of the educator is to present nothing as stale knowledge, but to put himself in the position of the child, and wonder and admire with him; for every common miracle which the child sees with his own eyes make of him for the moment another Newton."

Ah, here is a secret of educators - to wonder alongside the child. To encounter the thing together, as though for the first time. Not to dampen the experience with our own superiority or over-familiarity. Our approach is catching. If we have grown cold to these common miracles, our children may shrug them off as unworthy of their attention and affection.

But if we are willing to stoop down just a little, to make ourselves just a little smaller, perhaps we can again be captured by the grandness of God's world. We are His creatures, after all. Perhaps we can pray for our own spirit of wonder to be renewed. I don't think we ever grow out of this need for receptivity, humility, and curiosity. Moms need wonder too.

I can't think of any better way to share a sense of wonder with our children than to explore and enjoy nature together. And with this shared wonder, there's a good chance a shared joy will spring up as well. If we're missing that sense of delight in our lives, perhaps a trip to the woods or the river or even just the backyard is in order. Go with an open heart. Go and marvel at the softness of emerging buds, the music of the water, or the colours of the sky. Step back. Take it all in with the children. Wonder - and grow.


~ Lindsey

A Basic Method for Time Outdoors

I've been sketching out my own notes as I go through Charlotte Mason's "Out-of-Door Life" section of Home Education. My temptation is to highlight or quote everything! But I'm trying to give myself a broad outline.

As it seems to me, there is a basic method introduced in the beginning of the section, into which the rest of the information fits.

After demonstrating the need for a robust outdoor life, and these MANY hours outdoors, Charlotte goes on to say that a method is needed.

The GOAL is that "every hour should be delightful." Sounds good to me!

WHY is a method needed? Why not just turn them loose? Well, without a method, the mother will be taxed and the children will get bored. She says "there is a great deal to be done and a great deal to be prevented." Again, there's the art of the mother's purposeful presence at work.

A few things to remember:

• The children must be kept in a joyous temper all the time
• The children must be let alone and left to themselves a great deal to make connections for themselves
• This is also the mother's opportunity for training and "dropping seeds of truth"
• An hour or two of vigorous play for muscular development
• "Last, and truly least, a lesson or two must be got in."

With that in mind, she presents a framework for time outside together.

The Wild Scamper

Upon arrival at your destination (be it backyard or field trip), send the children “to let off their spirits in a wild scamper, with cry, halloo, and hullaballoo, and any extravagance that comes into their young heads” (p.45).

In other words, let the kids let off some steam and explore, and just "be kids" in the great outdoors.

Sight-Seeing or The Exploring Expedition

After a sufficient scamper, call the children back. Then, “while wits are fresh and eyes keen” send them on an “exploring expedition” (p. 45).

This should be done "in the spirit of a game, but with the carefulness of a lesson."

Basically, you send them off to find out everything they can about a particular spot or object, such as a hillside, stream, or tree. Then call the children the back and have them tell you their observations. With a few questions, you draw out all you can about what the children have observed. 

"By degrees children learn discriminatingly every feature of landscapes with which they are familiar." 

"This is all play to the children, but the mother is doing invaluable work" (p. 46).

Educational uses of Sight-Seeing:
1. It trains the powers of observation and expression 
2. It increases their vocabulary and range of ideas by giving them names and uses of things in nature
3. It trains them in truthful habits by making them careful to observe and then state exactly what they saw
4. It gives "a delightful possession for old age." Things really seen in the first place can be really remembered in years to come. 

Picture-Painting

In Picture-Painting we take mental photographs of a landscape. Have the children look at a landscape, then shut their eyes and see if they can picture it in their mind's eye. See if they can describe the picture before them, in as much detail as possible. If it's still blurry, have them look again, and try to describe again. 

This effort of recalling and reproducing can be mentally fatiguing, so this should be done "now and then." (What would this mean? A few times a week?)

The goal is "seeing fully and in detail." Mason says it's worthwhile for children to know a bit of landscape by heart. They will also be storing up a mental gallery of images which they can recall for later enjoyment.

This reminds me very much of Wordsworth's famous poem, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud."


I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye 
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.


Charlotte goes on to say that in the course of Sight-Seeing and Picture-Painting, opportunities will occur to make the children familiar with a host of things, including

• Field crops and farm life
• Field flowers and the life history of plants
• Trees
• Seasons
• Living Creatures

There's more to say about each of these areas, which I will come back to in later posts. 

 A Lesson or Two

I haven't read up to this point yet! More to come.

Vigorous Play

I'm not quite sure where the hour or two for vigorous play comes in Mason's outline. Perhaps this will become more clear as I read on. 

Putting It Into Practice:

This week, I'd like to try out some of these basics. First, to let us all loose for a little while, then have everyone come back for Sight-Seeing. I think "Exploring Expedition" sounds a little more lively, so that's what we'll call it! If that goes well, we'll try at least one round of Picture-Painting. 

We read Wordsworth's poem last week, and talked about how he "gazed and gazed," and was thus able to remember the scene in his "inward eye." So I will encourage them to "gaze and gaze" just like him, and see what we can see. :) 


Happy  Outdoorsing! 


~ Lindsey

The Outdoor Life Challenge Begins!

Yes, April is here, and with it the beginning of my Outdoor Life Challenge!

(In case you missed the original post, click here to read my initial thoughts on the challenge.)

And yes, it was snowing here today. And there's more in the forecast for tomorrow. Not exactly how I was hoping to begin April, but we will forge ahead anyway!

Here's a recap of my goals for the next three months:

1. Spend a portion of our day together outside

I'm going to start by trying to do this in the afternoons. I'm liking our current morning routine, and since it's taken a lot of effort to create consistent mornings over this year, I don't really want to mess with that. The kids do usually go outside for between 30 minutes to 1 hour before we begin our morning lessons. They go out and play while I put the baby down for her nap, do a few of my chores, or finishing getting ready for our lessons. I will add this to the kids' total tally for the day, though it won't count for my time.

I'm still working out how to structure our afternoons to go out together, especially with this tricky early spring weather. It's not quite "fine" enough to be eating outside, or for the baby to be crawling around yet. I think I'm going to keep the baby's nap time the same for now, at least on most days. The other thing I need to work out is how to schedule in the kids' quiet time, which is my daily sanity saver!! This usually happens during the baby's nap as well, which is around 1:30-2:30. We also have a read-aloud time that usually happens after quiet time, which is a highlight of our day. I can anticipate eventually moving that to our front porch once the weather warms up, but for now we might need to keep that indoors. I have a feeling things will be shifting around a lot as the weather changes over the next few months.

I'm also going to start small. My humble goal, at least here in the beginning of chilly April, is to go out with the kids for one hour in the afternoon. I hope it's doable enough to get some momentum going! And maybe we'll surprise ourselves with more, who knows!

In addition, I want to plan one "full" afternoon outside a week, whenever possible. (This may be a trip to the pond down the road, or a hike/bike ride once the trails are clear of snow. I'm also waiting on some new inner tubes for my stroller. We have a great backyard, but I'd like to try going just a little further afield if we can.)

2. Have a snack or lunch outside on fine weather days

Hmm, we'll see about this! The temperature range for the next week is between -3 and +4 celsius. Maybe we'll try a snack this week! I do have a little picnic table outside that is great for snacks and small meals. It's currently in a mud/slush puddle. Again, things should shift as spring becomes warmer.

3. Dust off the nature journals and make regular entries

We did this last week! It was great. Our goal will be at least one entry a week. Eventually I hope to move some of the actual journaling outside, but for now we may need to bring some nature inside for drawing purposes, or draw from our guide books.

4. Make outdoor play our default play

I know this will become easier as the sun gets warmer and beckons us out. I can see this being a challenge at the beginning. A lot of outdoor play this time of year means an awful lot of mud too. Besides finding some more splash pants, I think I will have to designate a set of "mud clothes" for each child that can be permanently stained "island red."

5. Continue my own nature education

What are these?

Right now I'm reading through "The Out-of-Doors Life for the Children" section of Mason's Home Education (volume 1 in the pink set).

Our "special study" area for nature study this term (following Ambleside Online's schedule) is fish. I'll have to read up on this in my Handbook of Nature Study. I must say, I don't know a lot about fish at the moment. I'm sure that will change by the end of June!

A few more things. . . 

• Every day I will keep a tally of the kids' total time outside, and our time outside together. I'll post this at the end of each week, hopefully with a bit of a recap of our time outside. 
• Once a week I will try to post a few thoughts from my reading in Home Education. 
• I want to pay special attention to what sparks joy in our time outside! I hope to capture at least one moment a week, whether in words or in a photo, that I can share. Joy is a big part of why I'm taking on this challenge. :) 

If you'd like to join in this challenge and share your own outdoor journey, please chime in in the comments, or link to any blog posts you may have! I'm not tech-savvy enough to have hashtags and link parties and all that, but perhaps we can encourage each other in some small way. 

Happy Outdoorsing! 

~ Lindsey

My Grand (Unrealistic?) Charlotte Mason Outdoor Life Challenge!

The more I've been reading Charlotte Mason on "The Out-of-Door Life for the Children," the more I've been thinking.

March branches

This emphasis on outdoor life and nature study was one of the major attractions of the Charlotte Mason method for me in the first place. I've always loved nature. (Well, maybe not the bugs, as those of you who know me well can attest to!) I've known its power in my own life, both as a child in the wilds of the Northwest Territories, and as an adult now in Prince Edward Island. I'm convinced of the need for our family to be more connected with the natural world, and this not only from Charlotte Mason, but from others. I've seen the crippling effects of what Richard Louv calls "Nature Deficit Disorder," and I do not want this for my kids.

And I've been thinking, what would I look back on and wish we had done more of this year? More math? More narration? More read-alouds? (All good things, yes.) What element of a CM education would I kick myself most for not fully trying to implement?

I keep coming back to this: outdoor life.

Yes, that involves "nature study," but it's so much more than that. Mason's vision goes way beyond a once-a-week nature walk. (And yes, I'll admit, there are weeks we haven't even done that. Many weeks. Try most of the winter!) I don't want to get the guilt train going for anyone. But when I think about what I really want for our family, and what I'm really willing to put some effort into, it's outdoor life.

Ah, the wonder of spring... coming soon to a backyard near you.

Much as I love nature, I also have bookworm tendencies. Bookworms like cozy fires, in my experience, and warm mugs of coffee. Indoor inertia can set in all too easily. It's nice in here, after all, with our blankets and books, and coffee and books, and computers and books...

But I know there's more! And I want more! How much more?

Well, that's actually a scary question, because I know Charlotte Mason's answer. Gulp.

Let me quote:

"'I make a point,' says a judicious mother, 'of sending my children out, weather permitting, for an hour in the winter, and two hours a day in the summer months.' That is well; but it is not enough. In the first place, do not send them; if it is anyway possible, take them; for, although the children should be left much to themselves, there is a great deal to be done and great deal to be prevented during these long hours in the open air. And long hours they should be; not two, but four, five, or six hours they should have on every tolerably fine day, from April till October. 'Impossible!' says an over-wrought mother who sees her way to no more for her children that a daily hour or so on the pavements of the neighbouring London squares."

Impossible! says an over-wrought mother with a baby who needs a nap, and kids who need clean underwear (again!), and a family that needs supper on time, and errands to run in town, and Facebook to check . . . not to mention Canadian "spring."

This was last April at the beach. Oh boy, we look cold!

WHAT?!? Charlotte, are you kidding me? FOUR TO SIX HOURS?!? You have no idea what my life is like.

{Insert firm but kind British voice here}

"Let me repeat, that I venture to suggest, not what is practicable in any household, but what seems to me absolutely best for the children; and that, in the faith that mothers work wonders once they are convinced that wonders are demanded of them."

***

To be honest, if this was just a "Charlotte Mason thing," or me wanting to uphold the purity of some hundred year old method, it would probably not be enough to get me in the business of wonder working. But, like I said, it's not just Charlotte Mason. She's just one more voice encouraging me in the direction I think we need to go.

Let me say that I am quite interested in Charlotte Mason's particular method of living the outdoor life and educating the children in nature study. I feel like I want to give it my best shot, her way, and see what comes of it. However, I make no promises. (FOUR TO SIX HOURS?!?)

And I am actually rather hesitant to put myself out there (here) and announce to my half dozen readers my grand plan of nature study. BUT, I'm doing it in the hopes of some accountability, if only for myself.

So, this is what I'm thinking. Our next, and final, term of this our inaugural year of formal lessons begins in April, which also just so happens to coincide with that whole "April to October" guideline of Ms. Mason's. (Weather differences between the UK and Canada aside. At least we have the "tolerably fine day" clause to fall back on. Phew.)

We are going to begin our very own "Charlotte Mason Outdoor Life Challenge" from April till June. Yay! 

(Just so you know, I am literally making this up as I type.)

Looking ahead to June green. . . 

The Challenge will include the following goals:

1. Spend a portion of our day outside together. 

(Note, I did not say spend 4-6 hours outside every day! At least not at first!) Part of this will be for free play, and part of it for learning, or "nature study," gradually implementing more of Charlotte Mason's methods as we go.

2. Have a snack or lunch outside on fine weather days. 

This is one way Ms. Mason suggested upping the outdoor hours and increasing joy in our lives as a family. As long as the scary bugs stay away, I should be ok...

3. Dust off the nature journals and make regular entries. 

We haven't made many entries since last fall. I make no commitment to dry-brushing or any particular technique. Only to developing the habit of regularly recording our observations. (I would love to learn, but I also know that my learning curve has its limits! Slow and steady wins the race, to quote a tortoise.)

4. Make outdoor play our default play. 

I have a hunch that going out to play will reduce the amount of tidying needed in the house! Bonus! As well as providing the kids (and myself) with the many benefits of outdoor play, of course.

5. Continue my own nature education. 

I will continue reading through Ms. Mason's thoughts on the subject, as well as choosing one nature study book that I will read for my own insight and enjoyment during this term. (In addition to the kids' lesson books.)

June! It will come!

Don't worry, there will be more details to come on just how I plan to go about doing this. (I am still very much thinking about just how I plan to go about doing this!)


What I really want to know is, are there any other homeschool moms out there that want to do this with me?!? It doesn't have to look exactly like my challenge! Your goals may be different! But does anyone else want to have more of an outdoor life to finish off the school year? If so, comment below! We can do this. :)

(And if all I end up doing is talking to myself over here, I'm totally ok with that too. Right? Yes.)

~lg

"Take Them!" The Mother's Presence in the Child's Outdoor Life

There is much to be said about the mother's role in outdoor life. From the first few sections of the chapter "Out-Of-Door Life for the Children," I've noted several things that have stood out to me about the mother's presence. 

To begin, mothers should not be content only to send their children outside. When at all possible, they should take them. 

"In the first place, do not send them; 

if it is anyway possible, take them. . ." (p. 43)*

The Mother's Presence Is Purposeful

Once outside, the mother plays a key role in the child's experience of nature. Her presence is necessary, but it must not get in the way of the children forming their own relations with the natural world. 

"They must be let alone, left to themselves a good deal, to take in what they can of the beauty of earth and heavens; for of the evils of modern education few are worse than this - that the perpetual cackle of his elders leaves the poor child not a moment of time, nor an inch of space, wherein to wonder - and grow. At the same time, here is the mother's opportunity to train the seeing eye, the hearing ear, and to drop seeds of truth into the open soul of the child, which shall germinate, blossom, and bear fruit, without further help or knowledge of hers." (p. 44)

There is a delicate balance to be struck here, and I suspect it is rather an art to be developed. 

On the one hand, leave them alone. On the other hand, take the opportunity to train and "drop seeds of truth." Part of the mother's role is to discern "the right moment" for these things (p. 47). She should not overpower the children with "perpetual cackle!" Neither should she ignore them. Her presence must be purposeful. 

One way I think about the relationship between mother, child, and nature, is that the mother is the one making the introduction between the child and nature. Nature is not in her power. Neither is the child. She helps facilitate the connection, and then steps back and lets the living world do its work with the child. Note how much of this happens "without further help or knowledge of hers." 

We are not present to control. We are present to connect. 

The Mother's Presence is Encouraging

Another aspect of the mother's role is to encourage an interest and love of the natural world, stemming from her own pleasure in it.

Charlotte Mason writes that, "every child has a natural interest in the living things about him which it is the business of his parents to encourage" (p. 58).

The parents' influence, one way or the other, is vital. She goes on to say, "few children are equal to holding their own in the face of public opinion; and if they see that the things which interest them are indifferent or disgusting to you, their pleasure in them vanishes, and that chapter of the book of Nature is closed to them" (p. 58).

Our enthusiasm for the natural world is catching! So is our indifference. Joy and wonder in the marvels of creation are part of the atmosphere of education, and the tone is set by us. Are we curious? Do we have a reverence for life? Do we take joy in the wide world around us? Do we prioritize our day to spend time outside?

Too often we moms have allowed the distractions and duties of life to sever our own connection with nature. We suffer because of this, but so do our children. If we don't make it a priority in our adult lives, our children may view it as something to be discarded as they get older. It is well worth it to rekindle this connection in our lives, for our sakes and theirs.

The Mother's Presence is Enlightening

Charlotte believed that mothers and teachers should know about nature!

"The mother cannot devote herself too much to this kind of reading, not only that she may be able to read tit-bits to her children about matters they have come across, but that she may be able to answer their queries and direct their observation. And not only the mother, but any woman, who is likely ever to spend an hour or two in the society of children should make herself mistress of this sort of information; the children will adore her for knowing what they want to know, and who knows but she may give its bent for life to some young mind destined to do great things for the world" (p. 65).

Not only is our enthusiasm for the natural world important, so is our knowledge of it. It doesn't mean we have to be experts, but it does mean we should be expanding our knowledge of the natural world.

The purpose of this knowledge is not so we can endlessly lecture our children about every bug, rock, and tree they encounter, but so that when they ask, or when the moment is right, we have those seeds of truth we can drop into their minds. We have names for things. We have a framework for understanding the world around us. We have a basic nature vocabulary we can begin to share with our children.

One thing I would like to do is develop my own booklist of nature reading. Besides reading to know about the topics the children will be studying, I want to read for my own interest and delight. Perhaps one book a term for me?

The Plan in Action:

~ Go out more with the children. The end goal would be to go with them "every tolerably fine day from April to October." (It's still March! Wet and windy weather prevails. But it will get better...) I'm not sure it's realistic to expect this of myself every day. I would have to work on rearranging our lives a bit more for that to happen. After all, sending them out is better than them not going at all. But I'd like to make a steady improvement in this area. And as the weather improves, I hope my track record will as well!

~ Go out and generally enjoy myself. I think if they see me delighting in our backyard wonders, that's an "atmosphere" that will catch on.

~ Make a booklist of nature books for me to read. Plan to start one at the beginning of April (when our next term begins).



* All quotes taken from Volume 1: Home Education of The Original Homeschooling Series by Charlotte Mason, The Charlotte Mason Research & Supply edition.

Needing More Nature

March is a tricky month. The sun can be tantalizingly warm, lulling you into a vernal daydream . . .  the next minute you are hit with freezing rain in the eye! I find it a difficult month to get outside with the kids. Our nature study over the last few months has been mostly out of books. The kids have done a lot of playing out in the snow by themselves, which is great, but I haven't gone out with them too often. I know this needs to change! It's better for all of us!

We all went out this afternoon. The sunshine helped. We wandered by the river, taking time to observe these early signs of spring. We looked. We listened. We poked and prodded. The kids climbed trees. Ivy hung out in the back pack. It was wet underfoot and windy overhead, but we dressed for it. And it was great!

Spontaneous tree hugging 

The mud slide

I've been re-reading Home Education by Charlotte Mason (Volume 1 in the Original Homeschooling Series), particularly the section "Out-of-Door Life for the Children." One of the things that drew me to the Charlotte Mason approach was this huge emphasis on spending time outdoors and nature study. We are almost 2/3 way through our first year, and I feel like I've only skimmed the surface of what our outdoor life could be as a family. Sure, a new baby in the mix has its complications. But as Ivy gets older and other aspects of schooling get more comfortable, I feel more able to take on a challenge in this area.

"In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mother's first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it spent for the most part out in the fresh air" (pg. 43).

For the rest of March, I want to read all I can about this aspect of home life and education. I have this grand idea formulating in my head, but I want to think it over before committing, or at least before making it public!! But I think I will do some brainstorming and some plotting along with my reading. I'm hoping April will see some significant, positive changes.

Accomplishment! He got up here all by himself. 

Of all the things I could look back on this year, I think I would regret most not going "whole hog" with a robust outdoor life. It's foundational.

I will end this post with a few pertinent quotes from the very first paragraph of the section mentioned above (pg. 42).

"For we are an overwrought generation, running to nerves as a cabbage runs to seed; 

and every hour spent in the open is a clear gain, tending to the increase 

of brain power and bodily vigour, and to the lengthening of life itself." 

I am, with Charlotte, inclined to make "a new rule of life:"

"Never be within doors when you can rightly be without." 

For more about our home education journey and approach, click here or on the "Little Homeschool" tab at the top of the page!


~lg

Figuring Out the First Year

This homeschool mom is still trying to figure things out over here! That's what the first year is all about, right? Still loosely following Ambleside Online's Year 1, but with enough substitutions, modifications and deletions to not really be a true AO-er. I've been fascinated by the podcast discussions of A Delectable Education, especially regarding history rotations. And then there's my penchant for the Moore's Better Late Than Early approach. Kids want to spend all day playing in mud puddles? Go right ahead! I am still very much aiming for Charlotte Mason's timeless principles though! And working my way through her writings. Perhaps I am a . . . Free Spirited CMer?

And then there's the whole personality type thing at play. I'm an INFP, mostly! And apparently, I dislike both risk and systems! Ha! It is actually very true. So, I don't want to risk doing something that hasn't been tried before (thus the need for some outside input or structure or historical precedent), but I don't want to be tied into anyone's system (thus the need for modification and making things up as I go and room for flexibility). Did I mention I'm also slightly impulsive and easily distracted? I have to feel my way, and leave lots of loops open, only sometimes I forget which loops those were. Oy! Sometimes I tend toward INTP, which means I spend lots more time on research than actually implementing ideas! But I want to have the right idea before I implement. Do you see my problem?

Anyway, things are actually going fairly well, and perhaps I'll share soon a bit of what we're actually doing around here, as far as booklists and lessons go. Just now it is past my bedtime though, and I'd better get the best start on my day tomorrow by going to bed now. If I can shut my homeschool brain off, that is . . .


~lg

"School" This Morning: Birdwatching

"School" this morning:

• Watching the birds at the feeder through the open dining room window (taking turns with the binoculars for a closer view)
• Discovering the difference between the downy and hairy woodpecker with our Peterson's Birds of Eastern and Central North America
• During snack, reading aloud from our Handbook of Nature Study: "Lesson 14 The Downy Woodpecker"
• We learned that the Downy's fourth toe is turned backward as a companion to its thumb, and that the tail props the bird up like a bracket, allowing it to grip the tree. 
• The beak can be used as a pick or a drill.
• The Downy grabs the grub with its tongue, which is covered with little hooks.
• Practicing lower case letters by starting a birdwatching checklist
• Sending the kids outside for the rest of the morning to observe and play with Mother Nature

I love learning like this. It's natural, connected to nature and our daily lives, and we are discovering things together. I love the freedom we have to stop and watch the birds. I love the opportunity we have for the kids to go outside for as much time as possible. I love that the children are forming relationships with the real world right outside our door.

I hope to continue to create an atmosphere of learning in our home, where we are attentive to opportunities for discovery, where we have both the freedom and resources to explore real life and real ideas, and the disciplined framework upon which to hang moments of wonder. All of life is education. (I am absorbing and still learning from Charlotte Mason!) 

Books in this post:

(I am part of the Amazon Affiliates program. I only link to books we personally use and recommend. If you click through and end up purchasing, a small portion will make its way back to our family. Thank you!) 

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock

Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America by Roger Tory Peterson