Do your children keep a book of mottoes?

My DD is finishing up 5th and we still do copywork.  I’m not sure when we’ll add a Book of Mottoes (maybe 7th?), but I don’t see her being consistent with one at the moment…she is very happy doing the absolute minimum amount of work, so I can see it not being used.  She’s also still working on her cursive writing and I definitely want her to be consistent with that!  

I did start keeping one myself and add to it everytime I come across an interesting quote.  I found a nice, but inexpensive hardcover book at the dollar store.  I just write the quote and who said it or the Bible verse.  I don’t organize them into categories.  I’m not sure if this is the “correct” way or not, but that’s how I’ve been doing it.  

My daughter, aged 12, is keeping a Commonplace Book. I have absolutely no say in what she chooses to put in there and I never “check” it. Once a week, we have a family meeting and she shares things from her book. We talked about this together several times over a few months before she started doing it. I also showed her a couple of websites for inspiration. When we were reading Great Expectations together, I would share with her from time to time some of the things I was writing down. Pretty soon, I noticed she was writing in her book regularly.

I have not done any extensive reading on the Book of Mottoes so I cannot speak authoritatively about what it should or shouldn’t be, but I believe it is comparable to a Commonplace Book. I did not set any expectations or rules for her book. Rather, I tried to inspire her to think of it as something that could be kept for her whole life and something that was wholly her own. She does not categorize it, but she does write down the title of the book and the chapter from whence the passage came.

My own books are categorized. I actually keep separate books for Science, Education, History, Theology, and Literature. I find this to be easier for me because without this system I would be paralyzed by not knowing where to write something and I would end up just not doing it.

By the way, my son, who is 11, is definitely not ready for this. He is just doing written narrations for now and no copy work. His handwriting is fine and he hates copy work, so I think written narrations are best for him. He also does prepared dictation with Spelling Wisdom. I think I will know when he is ready, just as I knew when my daughter was ready. I could see a maturity in her, a sense of wanting to spread her wings and take some responsibility for her own mind-nurturing. I’m sorry I don’t havesomething more practical to tell you about determining their readiness.

Pslively put it well. My dd was ready at 11 to dabble with her BOM and I see that growing in her and know that she will take flight with it in the coming year. My ds9 will likely not follow that same path and its ok.

Simple blog posts from CM Help about Commonplace Book:

http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com/2009/07/commonplace-book-or-copywork-for-older.html

http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com/2010/10/on-commonplace-book-need-to-keep.html

I was inspired to give my children black pens (some prefer gel pens, others fine sharpie markers) and ivory cardstock bound together (proclick punch and spines with laminated covers). Our nature journals are similar in style. Both commonplace and nature journals are used regularly.

All 3 of my 1st grade & up kids keep a Commonplace.  I don’t separate out from a Book of Mottoes.  CM has several different little books you can keep.  It’s easiest to just keep most of it in the same thing.  🙂  My younger 2 (ages 8 and 6) only draw pictures, although my 8yo will write something once in a blue moon.  My oldest (10yo) goes back and forth between drawing, writing Bible verses, writing a poem, copying a quote, etc.  I still check them for now, but next year my 10yo (5th grade then) will be on her own with it.  I am thinking about not checking the other 2, I know I shouldn’t be or have to, but I’m not ready to let them go quite yet…  🙂