So this week was a mellow week for me in one way and not so much in the other. (But I guess you can't have everything;)) My plan was to go trough all my books and organize and purge, to get ready for school. I did eventually get it done. ( felt great.) My husband was baddling a bad cold this week and now we are all dealing with it at the moment. Ick! But as much as we struggled to get done what needed to be done, there has been great success in the schooling area!! Let me explain.
I have been wanting to start reading the first volume of The Charlotte Mason Original series, but kept getting side tracked with other things and as soon as I pick it up, just to put it back down feeling frustrated that I couldn't get past the first few pages. Well, I picked it up and I'm on page 45 yey!!!! I know, the little things get me really excited. But wait, there is more exciting news.
So as I was going trough my Intagram someone had a picture of a DVD that they were watching about the Charlotte Mason method and I started looking it up with no success. I asked for some information and the kind women pointed me to http://www.livingbookslibrary.com/2014_07_01_archive.html?m=0
I didn't end up finding the DVD but I found a recording of Home Education!!!!!! This for me, was and is still epic! ( as I often wished there was something like this out.) I couldn't wait to put my kiddos to bed and put my head phones on and go trough the book. It's about $12 for a PDF download of CM Home Education. I can't wait for the lovely ladies to record Volume 2. Parents and children. They do have Volume 4 Ourselves available as well. I highly recomand these recordings as well as the written work of Miss Mason. I defiantly am getting a lot out of them. There is something completely wonderful about going to the original source. You can't get this from a secondary source.
Now, I wanted to touch on one more thing. Little ones ages two to four doing Nature study. I have moms say that their little one doesn't know how to draw or doesn't have much of an interest. I know every child is diffrent. I can tell you what we do and maybe it can benifit you as well. With my little one, he sees that his older brother and sister are doing nature study and he wants to be involved as well. In everything from nature study to math to narration. So we got him a scatch pad of his own. When we take walks we collect a little of nature for later drawing or pressing. ( flower pressing)
Now I don't recomand that you let your children loose to rip every flower they see. We don't want that. But if there is an abundance of Queen Ann's Lace we will pick a few to press for later or if you know me even a little you know that I take lots of pictures. We take an empty egg carton or a paper sandwich bag and collect our treasure from our walk. We bring our treasures home and the children choose to draw what they found. Let me just say that it's up to you the parent to guid your children in their studies . If you will be excited about a topic and show intrest, they will also!
I love the Parents' Motto from CM.
Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life. It's our job as moms and educators of our children to make our children's education experience a pleasant one. Not that they will always do things that are always pleasant. But I think teaching them that learning is not doing this worksheet or going trough this text book and they are done. Learning, it's a life style, it's a way of life. Giving them a calming, safe, atmosphere to be who The Lord God created them to be. Preparing them to be confident in who they are In Christ.
-The Preface in the Home Education-
Mother's duties to her Children.
"The women receives from the Spirit of God Himself the intuitions into the Child's character, the capacity of appreciating its strength and it's weakness, the faculty of calling forth the one and sustaining the other, in which lies the mystery of education, apart from which all it's rules and measures are utterly vain and ineffectual. We have a high calling mamas and God created you with everything you need to guide your children. Blessings to you.
