Copywork, Dictation and Some More Narration

I'm a little behind on my meeting notes report.  We had another great meeting with nine moms joining us.  We started our meeting by jumping right into the Eve Anderson Narration DVD that we missed last time.  I'm so glad we decided not to skip it.  It was a little longer than I expected but still reasonable at about 30 minutes.  I think we all appreciated watching this very important part of a Charlotte Mason education.  We discovered a few things about narrations that we didn't know.  For example, how narration doesn't necessarily mean to tell back in the fewest words possible just the key points or that it is at will a no structure talk as long as you like method.  There was order, respect, information and gentleness provided by Mrs. Anderson.  I particularly appreciated knowing that she prepares her narration sessions before starting a reading/narrating time with the child(ren).  I think we all picked up a few new and interesting tips from it.

Next, we dove right into our book discussion with the emphasis around copywork and dictation including grammar, composition and spelling.  I know we could easily divide each of these into a meeting all of their own.  Hopefully, we can come back to them again.  I think the main point about our discussion was that if the children are reading and using good literature for copywork they are setting a good foundation for the other subjects we touched on.  There was not a rush by Ms. Mason to have children under 9 years old to begin any of those subjects with emphasis.  As soon as they have good motor skills, however, they should be introduced to daily doses of good written copywork.  In the beginning it might just be a few perfect letters, but transition to good short sentences.  I have enjoyed creating our terms copywork.  From the advice of some more experienced CM moms I realized that if I break down the written work to terms rather than the whole year I can concentrate on problem areas.  Our copywork comes straight from the books they are currently using and/or reading.  A program that a few us really seem to like for the task is StartWrite.  Earlier this spring they came out with their 6.0 version which is even better than the previous.

I highly recommend you check out Hearing and Reading, Telling and Writing: A Charlotte Mason Language Arts Handbook.  Even if you just take a look at the down loadable sample under chapter 1, it gives you a breakdown of how copywork, dictation and narration work to cover all the language art subjects.  I will try to work on a chart to post under our tabs page.  Here is a good article from ChildLight USA on Composition.  I also want to include these great posts by my friend Jen at Wildflowers and Marbles. This is the beginning of  her series on language arts: start with this post and as you scroll down she links you to others on specific methods. Highly recommend you read them all.

There is so much to talk about and cover in just two little hours but I'm glad we are focusing our efforts in learning as much as we can.  I'm enjoying this very much.  We will have to schedule some meetings just on planning and dealing with multi age children after our December meeting because I think these were topics that everyone seemed very interested in.

"Gentle" Learning

A couple of interesting discussions and a few posts have popped up in the last couple of days.  One which I find very intriguing for us new moms learning about Charlotte Mason and beginning to implement in our homes is the idea that this is "gentle" learning.  There is a certain appeal to her methods and philosophy.  I know that I personally have enjoyed how "gentle" the approach is. Now, here is the catch.  What exactly does that mean?  Why do I (we) use the word?  Is my interpretation different than yours? 

Hmm...take a look at Sonya's blog post part 1 of a series over at Simply Charlotte Mason.  I'll enjoy sharing my experience these last few years and look forward to your first impressions at our meeting.

Learning & Supporting Each Other: An Introduction

We are a group of moms that over the course of the summer started wondering whether there was a gentle approach to educating our children without undermining their educational abilities.  A way to let a love of learning grow in our children.  A way in which they would  build such a relationship with their studies that their education was actually enjoyable and meaningful.  A way in which all tedious and unnecessary tasks could be eliminated from daily activities to allow them to just be kids.  A way that an appreciation for God's creation could flourish.  A way to provide them with a generous Liberal Arts education without overwhelming them ...

We are excited to learn and support each other through our home schooling journey using the wise wisdom from an English 19th century educator; Miss Charlotte Mason.  Through her philosophy all these things can be possible.  We are not looking to reinvent the wheel.  We will look to those who have done this successfully and try to learn from them as well.  There is a movement out there and we are happy to be a part of it.

Our meetings will take place in the Conejo and Simi Valleys in California.  We will strive to meet once a month during the traditional school year (September - June) on Tuesday evenings.  We are a new group and welcome home school educators looking to learn or educate their families with Charlotte Mason methods.  I will be so bold as to say that if you believe like Ms. Mason did and are looking to make "[E]ducation (is) an atmosphere, a discipline, a life,"  in your home this is a group for you.

We will begin with an introduction about Charlotte Mason and her methods.  We will pick a book to discuss and a topic based on her methods to explore.  Some of the topics we hope to cover are listed in our page tabs.  Our first meeting date will be posted in the Schedule page soon. Be patient with us, as we are all learning together how to educate our children using the wisdom of Ms. Mason and her gentle approach.  This blog will serve as a journal for our group and the relationships we hope to build.