When I was a little girl, I would go visit my grandparents once or twice a year. I quickly figured out that things at my grandparents’ house were different from my own house. They had different-looking furniture; they watched different TV shows and played different games; they had different toys for me to play with; […]
Today I’d like to share some of my favorite living books for early elementary students, those in grades 1–3, covering history during the years of 1550–1850 or so. I’m going to share titles for both American history and world history during that era, often called Early Modern. I think it’s helpful to study American history […]
My friend and coworker, Laura Pitney is with me today for another episode of Your Questions Answered. Today’s question is What is the place of audiobooks in a Charlotte Mason home school? Laura: That is a great question for sure. Sonya: Let’s talk about benefits first, how they can be very helpful to a homeschool […]
We’ve been sharing our favorite books for studying the Middle Ages and Renaissance, telling a little about each title and breaking it down by age range. So far we’ve covered grades 1–3, grades 4–6, grades 7–9, and grades 10–12. What’s left? Well, today I want to give you some titles that are great for all […]
Today I want to share more of my top picks for living books on the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The titles I’m sharing today are appropriate for fourth through sixth graders. At that age, the students should be transitioning to reading their school books for themselves, and all of these titles can be used as independent […]
If there is one thing Charlotte Mason homeschoolers love to do, it’s talk about our favorite books. I think every Charlotte Mason meeting I’ve ever attended had at least one conversation going on about “What books do you suggest for this time period and these grades?” or “Got any new favorite read-alouds?” I love to […]
Let’s talk about living books. Now, I can almost hear you saying, “Living books? Again? We talk about them all the time!” And that just proves my point. In a Charlotte Mason home school we spend a lot of time talking about living books: what they are, how to spot them, where to find them, […]
I can’t state this better than Charlotte Mason already did— “Children must have books, living books; the best are not too good for them; anything less than the best is not good enough” (Parents and Children, p. 279). Living books are a hallmark of a Charlotte Mason education. They are not used in every subject, […]
Last week we talked a bit about how living ideas feed the mind. You will hear that phrase “living ideas” often in a Charlotte Mason approach to learning. Sometimes it’s hard to grasp the concept of a living idea as opposed to a dry fact. So let’s dive into that subject a little deeper today. […]
If you’ve been around Charlotte Mason homeschoolers for any length of time, you have most likely heard the term “spine” book. While it may seem like such a term would refer to a type of science book, it’s actually more likely to be used for history. Let’s take a few minutes to make sure we’re […]
Every weekday evening that I am home, I watch an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood with my youngest daughter. (Thank goodness for Amazon Prime!) From the time my girls were little, Mister Rogers has been a staple around our house. It is the one show that I could enjoy along with them; and it seems […]
Last week we started a new series, 5 Steps to Successful Narration. Do you remember the five steps? Don’t worry, we’ll review them often as we talk our way through them over the coming weeks. It’s tempting to think that we can just open a book, start reading, ask one of the children to tell […]
I still recall the time many years ago when we scraped the bottom of our newlywed bank account to buy a gift for a little boy. We got him a sturdy but simple toy car. No flashing lights, no screeching sounds, no remote control—it had no limits but imagination. When our little friend opened the […]
(This article by Sonya Shafer was originally published in The Old Schoolhouse magazine, Summer 2011 issue.) Here is the story of two girls. We will call them Jan and Emily. Both are about nine years old. Jan is reading her Social Studies book and trying to answer the questions listed at the end of the […]
I remember sitting in our Charlotte Mason homeschool discussion group, explaining how a living book should give our children ideas, not just facts. One dear lady turned a puzzled look my way and asked, “What do you mean ‘ideas’?” That question made me pause. It’s easy to think of “ideas” as “the opposite of facts” […]
Mom took a deep breath and began to read aloud: I wonder how many of my readers have ever sat upon an ottoman. If you have, you know that it . . . “What’s an ottoman, Mom?” six-year-old Stacy interrupted. “If you listen, it will explain . . . ” Mom began. “It sounds like […]
As we continue our fun series on CM Myths, I hope these posts are serving to encourage and, hopefully, educate you a little too. This week we will take a look at the idea that Charlotte Mason never used any textbooks. Usually the comments go something like this: “I like the idea of using living […]
We’ve all been there. We hear about a great book, we do the research, we gather raving reviews from others, and we spend the money. Full of eager anticipation, we dig into the first chapter with our kids gathered around. But for some reason that book just doesn’t click with our children. When we ask […]
Thanks to everyone who submitted their definitions of “twaddle” on last week’s post! If you haven’t read the definitions yet, we encourage you to do so soon. One of the reasons we wanted to discuss twaddle was to help us all learn how to evaluate the books, DVDs, and other resources that we come across. […]
Twaddle. It’s a buzz word among those in Charlotte Mason circles. We smile in recognition when we hear it and probably use the word sometimes ourselves. Yet it seems difficult to define exactly. We might be able to give examples, but we can’t quite wrap our minds around an adequate, succinct definition. Twaddle. How would […]
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