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have you read CM's books and if so how often?
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I am currently working my way through book 6 in modern English. I want to read all her volumes, and was wondering how many of you have read all her books, and how many of you continue to go through her books. There is so much in her books, that I don’t think even reading them one time will be enough to really absorb all the info! I’d like to set a goal of some sort for my continuing education in CM, and wondered if anyone else on here has a goal like that.
I have read them all. I don’t reread every volume all the time, although I do reread them regularly. This year I got caught off guard by some unexpected responsibilities, but typically I reread two or three volumes a year. Some of them I get more out of than others, so which ones I reread just depends. I’ve most recently reread volumes volumes 3 and 6.
I am ashamed to admit that I have only read Volume 1 and parts of Volume 6. It is something I have been planning to do.
I’ve read all of the Free E-bboks here and have LOVED them. I don’t plan on reading the originals since I think the books written and the books here give a fabulous overview.
The books can seem a little intimidating at first, I know (I mean Charlotte’s original writings) but it is REALLY worth the time to go to the source for learning. Almost all of us read various helpful “about” books at first, and they can indeed be quite, quite helpful. They make wonderful “jump starts” and good bridges to the real books. But there are some things that if you are serious about, you ought to go to the source first. Overviews are good and I’m so glad for all the hard work that good people have done to make Charlotte’s ideas accessible. However, I always teach my kids that the source is the best! It’s best to READ Treasure Island if you want to experience it–it’s not enough to read the Cliffs Notes! A synopsis here and there can help, but even the best–like, say, Lamb’s Shakespeare–while useful in its own time and place–does NOT replace A Midsummer Night’s Dream! It can help you get to the point you can read it on your own–but you will really miss out if you don’t read it, the real thing.
IMO it’s just so with Charlotte’s writings. What Sonya has done here is extraordinarily useful because she has gathered what Charlotte has written on a subject from many places in the books and put it together on habits or language and so on. That is very useful, even for those of us who have read and continue to read Charlotte’s writings. But every time I read through Charlotte’s own writings, I find some nugget that I didn’t really realize before, or didn’t understand before, and there is a LOT in there that just is not in the “about” books. Some of it is less useful than other parts, IMO, but there is gold in there waiting to be mined by the patient and dedicated mother.
Even just setting a program to read a few pages a week or a month can be a great benefit. I don’t read the books for long at one sitting–they aren’t that kind. I just do a bit at a time. And I get off track sometimes, and it took me a while to read them all, all the way through–several years, in fact. But since we are all in a long-term project here–it’s worth it, IMO.
This article at Childlight was VERY helpful! I hope it’s OK to post this link here.
I am reading the Charlotte Mason Summaries. For now this will have to do. English is my second language and I struggle with BIG words or a book that has older english wording. I know if I dove right into her original writings I would feel overwhelmed and then discouraged. For now…the summaries will do just fine.
Martajoy – I cannot imagine reading her original writings if English was my second language! It’s a stretch for those of us who are native English speakers! 🙂
Bookworm – I agree with your post! I am starting out with the modern English, but when I do that, I will move on to the original CM. I think about 10 -15 minutes of reading is a good amount for me. Just enough that I can think about it till the next reading.
I like the idea of after reading through them all, re-reading a couple a year.
I have the Modern English set…I was so thirsty to soak up as much as I could when I first discovered CM that I figured it would be easier to read those. I have read 1 and part of 3, while also reading Laying Down the Rails, The Early Years, Hours in the Out of Doors, and still have so much more to read like Hearing and Reading, Telling and Writing, but plan on eventually getting to finish them. Then I’ll move into the originals. =) By then, my kids will probably have moved on…=)
I’ve read vol 1 & 2, but want to read the whole set. I wholeheartedly agree with Bookworm on this. Where I’m stuck is that I don’t want to read the next volumes off of the computer and want to purchase a set, but I’m not sure which one to buy. For example, there’s one out there that has all 6 volumes in one book, or you can buy them separately. Which is better?
As to the original post though, I think its a wonderful goal to have – it is one of mine for sure and I will re-read them I’m sure many times throughout our journey (my kids are only 6 and 3 right now :)).
OK-I took time reading OA last night and plan to read all 6 volumes in Modern English. I also plan to read the summaries.
@botanicalbecky, I would recommend the set in the red box. http://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-Masons-Original-Homeschooling-Mason/dp/1889209007
The ones with the more modern covers appear to be just pasted text from what is on the Ambleside Online website. That text was hand typed by members of their list and it still contains quite a few errors. That’s okay for the free and really useful online resource that it is, but those same errors seem to be in the more recent printed books too.
The older set with the red covers were photographically reproduced from the original books so the process didn’t introduce any new errors.
Doug-any thoughts on the Modern English Volumes? Volume 1. Or are these what you are referring to above as some of the “more recent printed books”?
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