Showing posts with label 5 Days of Charlotte Mason. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5 Days of Charlotte Mason. Show all posts

Friday 14 August 2015

A Basket full of Resources for a Charlotte Mason Education {Day 5/5 Back to School Blog Hop}

A Basket full of Resources for a Charlotte Mason Education
At the beginning of the year I attended a Charlotte Mason afternoon and was overwhelmed with the beauty of this approach to education.  There were so many inspirational stories and insightful comments through out the afternoon.  One of the books I came across that day was The Living Page: Keeping Notebooks with Charlotte Mason by Laurie Bestvater.  It arrived in the mail today and I'm looking forward to reading it.

The arrival of this book sparked the idea of sharing with you some of the lovely resources I discovered at the Charlotte Mason afternoon. One of the topics which inspired me and caught my attention was that of written work in a Charlotte Mason Homeschool.
"We all have need to be trained to see, and to have our eyes opened before we can take in the joy that is meant for us in this beautiful life."      ~ Charlotte Mason

Notebooking

Common Place Book


"We are so accustomed to take wonders as matters of course, mere everyday events, that it does not occur to us to be surprised."- Charlotte Mason

Writing

Book of Centuries

Time Line

Art

Books to read


Some Encouragement


“And all the time we have books, books teeming with ideas fresh from the minds of thinkers upon every subject to which we can wish to introduce children.” — Charlotte Mason


That brings us to the end of this years 5 Days of back to Homeschool Blog Hop I hope you have been as blessed by the other participants as I have.  

Here are the final eleven participants for you to visit for a basket full of wisdom and encouragement.

Crystal @ Crystal Starr
Shawna @ Tenacity Divine
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning 

Other posts in the 5 Days of Charlotte Mason Resources Series

  1. Charlotte Mason Education Resource List
  2. Shakespeare for a Charlotte Mason Education
  3. Charlotte Mason inspired homeschool Bloggers
  4. Charles Dickens for a Charlotte Mason Education
  5. A Basket full of Resources for a Charlotte Mason Education
I'd love to hear about your favourite Charlotte Mason resources please leave me a link in the comments below
Blessings
Chareen

Thursday 13 August 2015

Charles Dickens Resources for a Charlotte Mason Education {Day 4/5 Back to School Blog Hop}

I wish I'd had the inclination to read the works of Charles Dickens in high school.  I first became acquainted with the works of Mr Dickens after reading about him in Karen Andreola's A Charlotte Mason Companion {Chapter 31}. Karen calls Dickens 'A Mother's Secret Resource'

I'd always avoided the classics thinking they were outdated.  As a home educating parent I'm learning a deeper appreciation for these beautiful works that inspire me to live well and feed my mind with good food for thought.

As a family our first shared experience was the reading of Oliver Twist.  We loved the book so much we watched many versions of the movie including the musical. 

From this experience I have been inspired to find out more about this giant of English literature and have gathered together a few resources of interest to share with you.

I am still researching Miss Mason's approach to using Dickens in the home school and will update this post as I learn more on the subject.

Books on the Life of Dickens

Books written by Charles Dickens

Children's Versions


Teaching Dickens


About Charles Dickens on YouTube

Works of Dickens on YouTube

Follow my Pinterest Board for Charles Dickens Resources

I'd love to hear about your favourite Charles Dickens resources so that I may add them to this list. 

Blessings
Chareen

Other posts in the 5 Days of Charlotte Mason Resources Series


  1. Charlotte Mason Education Resource List
  2. Shakespeare for a Charlotte Mason Education
  3. Charlotte Mason inspired homeschool Bloggers
  4. Charles Dickens for a Charlotte Mason Education


The Schoolhouse Review Crew will be joining forces with Homeschool Blogging Connection to bring you a week full of back to school encouragement.

I encourage you to grab a cup of tea and take some time to take a look at what my fellow bloggers are sharing this week in the 2015 Back to Homeschool Blog Hop. Here are eleven more inspirational bloggers to meet and be encouraged.


Wednesday 12 August 2015

10 Charlotte Mason blogs to follow {Day 3/5 Back to School Blog Hop}

When I first started home educating 17 years ago homeschooling was something you researched by reading books which you got at the library or a homeschooling friend. You learned the practical aspect of homeschooling by visiting like minded families and seeing how they implemented their philosophies.

With the advent of the internet and weblogs we are given this amazing ability to see in the homes of home educating families around the world at any time of the day.  The only downside I have found to this phenomenon is that these picture perfect homeschools can leave you feeling overwhelmed and ill equipped to home educate your own family. On the upside however you can learn so much from these amazing women who open up their hearts and share their experiences and insights on home educating.

The more I learn about the Charlotte Mason method of home educating the more I'd like to know of how to implement it in today's modern home school. 

Today I would love to share with you 10 Charlotte Mason blogs that I've been learning from. These are presented in random fashion and not in order of preference.

1. Practical Pages

I love spending time at Practical Pages.  Nadene is an encouraging down to earth Charlotte Mason inspired Home educator who shares many free resources.

2. Journey and Destination

Carol blogs over at journey-and-destination where she shares her heart, resources and insights into home educating her children.  She has seven children and has home schooled them all.  Five have graduated.
Here are a few posts to whet your appetite

3. Sage Parnassus

Nancy is a veteran homeschool mom of 20 years and the hostess at Sage Parnassus where she loves to write about the Charlotte Mason philosophy and method of Education.  She also serves on the Charlotte Mason Institute Board. She has six children of whom two have graduated and she is still home educating her youngest four.

4. A Peaceful Day

Jeanne homeschools her daughter following the Ambleside Online curriculum and shares her thoughts and insights over at A Peaceful Day

5. ArchipelagO

This community blog is the official Ambleside Online Blog and has seven contributors.


6. Fisher.Academy.International

This blog is home to the monthly Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival where you will find an abundance of wonderful Charlotte Mason encouragement.

7. Charlotte Mason Institute

The Charlotte Mason Institute is a relatively new space I've been exploring but their blog contains some thought provoking posts.

8. Jimmie's Collage

Jimmie homeschool's her daughter using the Charlotte Mason Method and Notebooking.

9. A Charlotte Mason Home

Deborah blogs at A Charlotte Mason Home which is dedicated to bringing Charlotte Mason's ideas to the modern homeschool family.

10. Simply Charlotte Mason

Simply Charlotte Mason is the home of two Charlotte Mason educating families with over 40 years of Charlotte Mason educating experience between them.

Other posts in the 5 Days of Charlotte Mason Resources Series


  1. Charlotte Mason Education Resource List
  2. Shakespeare for a Charlotte Mason Education
  3. Charlotte Mason inspired homeschool Bloggers
  4. Charles Dickens for a Charlotte Mason Education



The Schoolhouse Review Crew will be joining forces with Homeschool Blogging Connection to bring you a week full of back to school encouragement.

I encourage you to grab a cup of tea and take some time to take a look at what my fellow bloggers are sharing this week in the 2015 Back to Homeschool Blog Hop
 

Aurie @ Our Good Life
Jennifer @ A Peace of Mind
Katie @ DailyLife
Melissa @ Mom's Plans
Annette @ A Net In Time

What are some of your favourite Charlotte Mason inspired bloggers to follow ?  I'd love to add them to my list.
Blessings
Chareen

Tuesday 11 August 2015

Shakespeare for a Charlotte Mason Education {Day 2/5 Back to School Blog Hop}

5 Days of Back to Homeschool Blog Hop Day 2 William Shakespeare Resource List
My very first encounter with Shakespeare was well over 20 years ago in high school.  Our assigned work was Macbeth.  I loved every minute of the class but the thought of teaching Shakespeare in our home left me quaking in my shoes!

Since reading A Charlotte Mason Companion chapter on teaching Shakespeare I've been inspired to start reading a simplified version of Shakespeare to Nathaniel and to my surprise he rather enjoys it.

A wonderful new book on How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare  by Ken Ludwig recently caught my eye. In this book you will understand the many reasons to read Shakespeare to your children as well as find the tools on just how to equip your children to appreciate all that Shakespeare is to our modern culture.

Many of the words we use in today's modern vernacular are created by Shakespeare himself.  Here is a sample: "You've got to be cruel to be kind" "If Truth were known"  "Love is blind"  "Seen better days" and many more.

Shakespeare Books

  • The Young Reader's Shakespeare books are one of my favourite resources.  They are well written and beautifully illustrated.  Available titles: Macbeth, Othello, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet   and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
  • The Usborne Young Reading William Shakespeare has been a delight.
  • Mr William Shakespeare's Plays by Marcia Williams presents seven classic Shakespeare plays. This title includes such novels as "Romeo and Juliet", "Hamlet", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Macbeth", "Julius Caesar", "The Winter's Tale" and "The Tempest". 
  • Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare! by Marcia Williams presents As You Like It, Antony and Cleopatra, Richard III, Twelfth Night, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice and Much Ado About Nothing 
  • Open Source: Shakespeare 
  • For the Lego lovers in your family:  Brick Shakespeare: Four Tragedies & Four Comedies
  • Shakespeare Stories By (author) William Shakespeare, Edited by Leon Garfield Here are twelve of Shakespeare's most memorable plays, presented in a fresh narrative form to delight both those who know the plays well and those who are new to them. Dramatic color illustrations and varied black-and-white drawings perfectly capture the mood of each story.
  • Shakespeare Stories II "By skillfully weaving his own prose with Shakespeare's language, Garfield has refashioned nine of the Elizabethan playwright's dramas into stories, capturing all the richness of the characters, plot, mood, and setting. Foreman's dramatic illustrations are the perfect complement to this celebration of Shakespeare's genius." 
  •  The Shakespeare Stories is a box set of 16 shortened Shakespeare stories.  This is a good set for young readers. These books are available separately.
  • Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
  • Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare "It is full of colourful illustrations from the Usborne Young Reading Programme. It contains the plays "A Midummer Night's Dream", "Hamlet", "Macbeth", "Romeo and Juliet", "The Tempest", and "Twelfth Night". It also includes a section at the back on the life and times of Shakespeare."
  • Shakespeare's Stories for Young Readers by E.Nesbit

Books on The Life of Shakespeare

Teaching Shakespeare

Notebook Pages and Unit Studies on Shakespeare



Follow my Pinterest Board for Shakespearean Resources


Other posts in the 5 Days of Charlotte Mason Resources Series


  1. Charlotte Mason Education Resource List
  2. Shakespeare for a Charlotte Mason Education
  3. Charlotte Mason inspired homeschool Bloggers
  4. Charles Dickens for a Charlotte Mason Education



The Schoolhouse Review Crew will be joining forces with Homeschool Blogging Connection to bring you a week full of back to school encouragement.

I encourage you to grab a cup of tea and take some time to take a look at what my fellow bloggers are sharing this week in the 2015 Back to Homeschool Blog Hop


Rebecca @ Raventhreads
Annette @ In All You Do

What are some of your favourite Shakespearean resources ?  I'd love to add them to my list.
Blessings
Chareen

PS The BBC produced this interesting song on the quotes of Shakespeare that we use today.



PPS: Win a Microscope {1894.99 value}

For your chance to win a Microscope and  microscope Camera be sure to enter the giveaway over at the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Monday 10 August 2015

Charlotte Mason {Day 1/5 Back to School Blog Hop}

5 Days of Back to Homeschool Blog Hop Day 1 Charlotte Mason Education Resource List
When you first start looking at home education one of the things you will notice is that there are a lot of terms and definitions that home educators use. People speak about the method or style of home schooling. They fling around words like: Twaddle Free, living books, delight directed education, trivium education, classical education and more.  Soon you start to hear the words: A Charlotte Mason Education.

Years ago I discovered Memories of a P.N.E.U. Education online and became inspired to search for a more practical application of using the Charlotte Mason approach to home education.

Today I would like to share with you a very brief overview of who Charlotte Mason was followed by a few resources to help you find out more about this educational philosophy and method.  

Who was Charlotte Mason?


She was born in Bangor and christened Charlotte Maria Shaw Mason (1 January 1842 – 16 January 1923). Miss Mason was a pioneering educator who developed a matchless approach to education. She believed that all children should have a wide-ranging, generous education and to be allowed to reach their full potential.
Charlotte Mason

During her life she taught school, was a lecturer at a Teacher Training College, wrote many books and pamphlets, started a training school for governess’ which became Charlotte Mason College, became a popular public lecturer, established the Parents National Education Union (PNEU), and was Editor of it’s magazine, “Parent’s Review”. Miss Mason’s philosophy of education is designed for homes, private schools, and homeschools.

Charlotte Mason had never claimed to have invented the methods that she put forth, rather she modified and combined them in a practical and intelligent way. Her methods include Narration and copywork, Nature Notebooks, Fine Arts, Languages, a Literature based curriculum instead of textbooks, and real-life applications.

My Journey to Charlotte Mason

The first book I ever read on the topic of Homeschooling was: For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay (first published in 1984).

This book I am pleased to say is back in print and available from
The Book Depository, Amazon and Christian Book.com For the Children's Sake has six chapters and is 158 pages.

Susan challenged some of the fundamental beliefs I had and the surprising thing is I was not even aware I had them until I read the book. I was introduced to Charlotte Mason in this book and really loved the idea of twaddle free books. 

The idea of real books as a basis of education really appealed and still appeals to me today, and thus began my search for a curriculum that contained 'living' books.  Books that would touch our lives for years to come, books that were not dead, books that were real and did not leave us treading water going nowhere.


A couple of years later Karen Andreola introduced me to the practical side of a Charlotte Mason education and A Charlotte Mason Companion soon become my favourite home schooling resource and is one that I recommend to any homeschool Mom who asks me which books I would recommend they read.

This beautifully illustrated book is full of encouragement and how to chapters. Karen covers practical topics like: The Art of Narration, Mother Culture, Shakespeare and Dickens. Topics of Art and Music appreciation along with Grammar, History, Nature Study and a few more kernels of wisdom.  A beautiful book full of gorgeous line illustrations.

Purchase this book from Book Depository, Amazon. For online encouragement meet Karen over at Moments with Mother Culture.


Books written by Charlotte Mason

The Original Home Schooling Series is available on Kindle  
FREE:  Charlotte Mason in Modern English

 Books on a Charlotte Mason Education

Online Resource for homeschooling with Charlotte Mason Methods

Connect with Charlotte Mason Home Educators on Facebook


Other posts in the 5 Days of Charlotte Mason Resources Series


  1. Charlotte Mason Education Resource List
  2. Shakespeare for a Charlotte Mason Education
  3. Charlotte Mason inspired homeschool Bloggers
  4. Charles Dickens for a Charlotte Mason Education


The Schoolhouse Review Crew will be joining forces with Homeschool Blogging Connection to bring you a week full of back to school encouragement.

I encourage you to grab a cup of tea and take some time to take a look at what my fellow bloggers are sharing this week in the 2015 Back to Homeschool Blog Hop

Marcy @ Ben and Me

Win a Microscope {1894.99 value}

For your chance to win a Microscope and  microscope Camera be sure to enter the giveaway over at the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Blessings
Chareen