BOC and BOM, ages?

Charlotte recommended around 9 or 10 for BOC and a bit older for Commonplace. IMO, copywork is better for younger because to ask the child to write what struck them from their reading is a bit abstract for younger ages. Commonplace becomes copywork for older kids. My dd13 began both this year in 7th. DS10 may begin his own BOC a bit earlier though. We have kept a family one.

I’m sorry for being unclear. I meant that we keep a family BOC. My kids, well just my oldest right now, have their own Commonplace. However, a family BOM (aka Commonplace) could be interesting, I think.

Thank you for your sweet words, too.

Christie

I mentionned in another post that my oldest wrote one quote in his BOM last school year. It was a quote from Wayne Gretzky! What can I say, he is a sporty kid.

He doesn’t find anything particularly striking, he is the type to just get his school work over with as fast as he can. Not pondering much!

How do you do you encourage to write more in it?

petitemom – That is the reason that I suggest waiting until 7th and beyond. Even my dd13 who is very well read and has done written narration since age 9 was slightly stumped at the beginning of this year. It was simply to vast an ocean to float around in.

Her first entries from – 

Oliver Twist:

Oliver cried lustily. If he could have known that he was a orphan, left to the tender mercies of the churchwardens and and overseers, perhaps he would have cried the louder.

Phantom Stallion:

The blue roan stopped long enough to scream a challenge. He held a grudge against the Phantom and this time he wouldn’t run.

Lord of the Rings:

And there was also a strange Elf clad in green and brown, Legolas, a messenger from his father, Thranduil, the King of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood.

The Cat of Bubastes:

After the ceremonies were concluded the procession moved in order as far as the house of the chief priest.

Notice how none of those chosen passages really have a lot of meaning. The “best” one is from Phantom Stallion, the least literary book IMO. We discussed this and went over again that this was a book to store favorite lines and passages, words of wisdom, etc.

Here are some later additions:

The Hobbit

Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away, ere break of day,

To find our long-forgotten gold.

Chip the glasses and crack the plates!

Blunt the knives and bend the forks!

That’s what Bilbo Baggins hates –

Smash the bottles and burn the corks!

Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!

Pour the milk on the pantry floor!

Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!

Splash the wine on every door!

Many, many more faves from The Hobbit were added!

William Cowper on Habits –

“Habits are soon assumed; but

when we strive to strip them off,

it is being flayed alive.”

Little Women

You see we don’t believe in making children miserable by too many rules, and too much study.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe –

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”

Sophocles – “Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life.”

Winston Churchill – “Personally, I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson – “No change of circumstance can repair a defect of character.”

Duke Ellington – “I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.”

Charlotte Mason – “Never be without a really good book on hand.”

All great things are simple, an many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. – Unknown

I share all this to remind you that this is a growth process and many, well likely most, kids won’t have things that strike them at age 10. Boys especially can struggle in this. It’s a thinking, growing thing. If your kids are ready earlier, go for it. Don’t be afraid to back off and wait and continue choosing copywork for them for a time. I tried this dd13 with a commonplace book in late 5th or early 6th because she is a true lierary girl. She wasn’t ready. She is now and she’s soaring.

I distilled my thoughts above into a blog post. I’m not a writer or frequent blogger, but I thought I’s post this to share with others.

Wings2fly – I’m unsure about the SCM guide here. Maybe Sonya will pop in and answer. From my reading of Charlotte and other research, it looks like she began this around age 13. There could be places that contradict this, but this is my recollection. My reason for staring this year in 7th was simply because it failed earlier and I learned that Charlotte recommended later. Profound, no?

It’s late and I’m off to bed, but here are some links that may be helpful.

• http://sageparnassus.blogspot.com/2011/12/silva-rerum-commonplacing-as-habit_30.html
• http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com/2009/07/copywork.html
• http://wildflowersandmarbles.com/2014/01/31/notebooks-acquiring-habits-with-intellectual-effort/

Thanks for sharing Christie! My son just finished 7th grade, maybe it just takes longer w/boys.

Maybe I’ll try to do a commonplace one instead, that would mean I would be the one to write it?

Perhaps they’ll find more inspiration if it doesn’t require extra work!?!