Our Booklist for Second Term

I've been wanting to explain why we haven't used the Ambleside Online book choices for Year One. Since the topic came up in a comment this week, I figured now is as good a time as any. If you're hoping for some thought-provoking, philosophical reason behind my choices, well, sorry. Mostly, we've chosen different books because we had already read the AO Year One books or just because we wanted to ;) As I've said before, AO's booklist is topnotch and I owe the AO Advisory more than I could ever repay. Who knows? I may use other AO years just as they are written. By the way, I'm more aware now of *not* reading AO books before their scheduled year. (That's a tip for any moms who haven't actually started homeschooling yet.) *grin*

This could easily become a very, very long post. I would prefer to keep it from becoming so. In an effort to keep things short and sweet, I think it would be easiest to just go down the line of subjects. I'll type the AO books in bold face for quick reference. Here we go...

BIBLE
We read straight from the ESV or from Catherine Vos' story Bible. Hubby is still considering reading at least the Psalms in KJV.

HISTORY
We decided to skip Trial and Triumph. Okay, this one might be a deeper reason than those I mentioned above. I'd rather not get into it tonight, though. Some children may be completely fine with Blandina getting torn apart by lions; I'm not so sure about mine at this point. I don't want to shield the children from martyrdom by any means, but I also don't want to encourage fear by giving them more than I feel they can handle now. We chose to replace Church History with Missionary Biographies because it was still highly important to us to set Christian heroes before the children (beyond those in the Bible). We also wanted to bring missions to mind early and often.

We use Our Island Story. This may be the only history book we use for Year One in the future. In looking through CM's programmes (you can read them at AO), Year One often only listed Our Island Story for history. At times there was a hero-type book as well.

We used Fifty Famous Stories for the first term. Hubby is the history man :) He felt like the stories in 50 Famous were (perhaps) a little too truncated. The book does accomplish the purpose of educating in cultural literacy (as the Advisory intended), but we wondered if the little bits-and-pieces stories were too random. At any rate, we're fairly confident that the girls would love to read these independently when they are a little older. For this term, we'll go in depth with William Tell by reading The Apple and the Arrow, instead.

Not sure yet about Viking Tales. Again, I'm thinking that Our Island Story is enough for history based on Miss Mason's programmes. Might be good to keep in mind for free reading, though.

We will not count American History biographies (the D'Aulaire books) as school reading the next time we do Year One. SweetP and Shug both like to check biographies out of the library for free reading, so no worries there. The D'Aulaire books are wonderful, but I won't officially schedule them the next time.

GEOGRAPHY
I really like Paddle-to-the-Sea and the other Holling books. We fully intend to buy them for our home library. For school purposes, though, they don't cover the geography "ideas" that I'd hope to get across at this young age. Miss Mason wrote about the children reading little books about children from other lands and reading travel books. We like to check out large coffee table travel books from the library. As for the stories of children from other lands, I've had a hard time finding something well-written, engaging, and yet fairly short. Li Lun is the best I could do for this term after ditching Paddle to the free reading list (my girls read a lot, so even the free reading stuff gets read). I also printed out Miss Mason's Elementary Geography book to use for Years 1 and 2. The little book "What Makes Day and Night" is to supplement one of the EG lessons.

NATURAL HISTORY
We own many of the Burgess titles, and the girls have already read The Burgess Bird Book, so we chose one of the Clara Pierson books from Yesterday's Classics instead. We also love James Herriot, but we've read through those stories so many times that they really wouldn't be useful for us as school books. We use Comstock as a reference, but not as a text to go through cover to cover (you may want to read the intro to the book if this confuses you).

POETRY
Again, we have already read Stevenson and Milne many, many times over. I chose Favorite Poems Old and New for the first term just because I liked it so much :) For the second term, we skipped ahead to one of the AO Year 2 poets and chose Walter de la Mare. It's a beautiful book :) We'll likely stick to these two choices for the remainder of the year.

LITERATURE
I cut out several of the AO books after spending some time reading the PNEU programmes for Form 1b. Miss Mason seems to have consistently used Aesop's Fables and fairy tales as the only literature for Year One. AO has a lot of literature books listed.

Parables From Nature was used as a Sunday Reading book in CM's programmes. It is the same in our home.

Just So Stories was moved to free reading, and it does get read - just not aloud and not during school time ;) I had a hard time deciding about this one. It's one of the more challenging books for this year, and I considered keeping it because of it's strong vocabulary. Kipling's not a bad writer, you know ;) In the end, though, I chose to keep the school load as close to the PNEU programmes as possible, and Just So Stories was one book too many for our schedule. It's nice to have the children in the habit of reading challenging books for fun.

We use the Milo Winter version of Aesop for Children, but only 3 fables per term. That's what the PUS programmes scheduled. Again, I'm counting on the girls reading the rest on their own later.

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is not my favorite choice - too sparse. I much prefer the Lamb version, but plan to save Lamb for a little later on. For a very first introduction to Shakepeare, I really like the Coville books (check out my sidebar). But, again, I can't find anywhere that Miss Mason included Shakespeare in Form 1b, so I feel perfectly fine with only doing one play this year. I chose The Winter's Tale. It's about 40 pages long and it will take about 10 weeks to finish.

And that brings me to The Blue Fairy Book. Here, I admit, I think I made a mistake by replacing this book. I wanted to try to use books we already had. I soooo love the illustrations in the Treasury of Children's Literature (TCL) and the stories are told well, but they really don't come close to Lang's versions. As preparation for Year Two's harder books (Pilgrim's Progress, Robin Hood), I really think Lang would be hard to beat. SweetP is reading Rumplestiltskin independently from TCL right now, but I think the next fairy tale will have to be Lang. She may not be able to read it independently, but I really want her to have the more challenging vocabulary. So, we're running back to AO for fairy tales.

FREE READING
So far this year, SweetP has read Charlotte's Web and The King of the Golden River (which she voluntarily narrated - often), Pocahontas, and The Velveteen Rabbit from the list. We have read St. George and the Dragon and The Little House in the Big Woods before this year. I'm hoping to get The Red Fairy Book for her birthday next month :) Also, I plan on reading Pinocchio and Peter Pan aloud to the children after we finish The Magician's Nephew and The Long Winter (maybe later this spring). So, I'm following the recommended free reading list quite closely ;)

Hope that clears some things up.

Exam Questions: Year One Term One

Monday A.M.

Tell how God was faithful to Joseph in the land of Egypt. (Bible)

Show how nine beans may be grouped into three sets. Then, show how these same beans may be grouped into three different sets.

Tell how God miraculously protected George Washington during the French and Indian War. (George Washington by D'Aulaire)

Hum Mozart's "A Little Night Music".

Name the colors in the color wheel in Spanish.

***This morning's exam narrations went well :) I waited until Little Dude was down for morning nap, then I gave Shug and Punkin something fun to do and went into another room with SweetP. We had our little tape recorder and microphones, beans, and color wheel. I also had the exam questions. The only issue was that, at times, SweetP would forget to hold the microphone up high enough to her mouth, so I'd have to gently nudge it up in the middle of her narration. That may have been a bit distracting. I meant to time the exam session (just for future planning), but I completely forgot about it when the time came. I hope to time this afternoon's questions, though. Thanks so much for all of the kind comments :) You all are so encouraging.***


Monday P.M.

Tell the story of one of Britain's ancient heroes. (Our Island Story)

Tell why David Livingstone was not content to stay at the mission station in Kuruman. (David Livingstone)

What have you noticed (yourself) about a white-tailed deer?

Tell one of Aesop's fables (The Aesop for Children)

***Well, we're done for the day! This afternoon's exams took a total of ten minutes. One tip - if you're trying to tape narrations with a ten month old baby in the room, it might be hard to hear through the squeals and babbles ;) Once Little Dude was occupied with some Legos, SweetP began to narrate much more fluently than she had in the morning (even offering a little extra anecdote on the last question). It may be that she just needed to warm up since she hadn't officially narrated since Thursday. I'm pleased with today's exam experience! Although, I'm not convinced that this tape recorder is the best way to go.***

Tuesday A.M.

Tell three ways in which Martha Washington was a comfort to the soldiers in the Continental Army. (Martha Washington)

Arrange the hands on the Judy Clock to point to 7 o' clock.

Tell the story of the boy Jesus in the temple. (Bible)

Explain how water travels from the Nipigon Country in Canada to the Atlantic Ocean. (Paddle-to-the-Sea)

Name your family relationships in Spanish (example: Nana is my abuela)

***SweetP was a little flaky this morning. I'm not sure if the questions were a bit harder or what. I knew the Paddle question would be tricky - she got the basic concept of the pathway, but she kept wanting to name the Great Lakes in order of Paddle's course. Eventually, I told her to end her narration, and we looked at the map later on. Who knows how long she would have thought aloud about whether Lake Huron came before of after Lake Erie if I hadn't moved her along ;) We used a normal tape recorder today instead of the toy one with the microphone. I'll wait until afternoon exams are over to comment on my preference.***


Tuesday P.M.

Tell about your favorite aria from The Magic Flute. (The Magic Flute)

Tell all you can about what makes an animal a mammal. What can you tell about nursing sows and their piglets?

Sing as much of any folk song as you can.

Choose two different tree-nuts/seeds that you have seen this fall and tell all you can about them.

Count from 1 to 10 in Spanish

***Considering that we didn't get to these exam narrations until 7:30pm, SweetP did great! I didn't tape record these answers, I just typed as fast as I could. Which wasn't fast enough. I had to interrupt her a lot to get all of the words typed out. Not at all optimal. It definitely helps to type later after the narrations have been recorded. I'm feeling so-so about exams so far. I think I'll like having so many narrations typed out for our year end State Assessments, but I'm not sure about how beneficial I think they are in general. We'll go on with tomorrow as planned, though.***

Wednesday A.M. (Not today! We went shopping all day instead!)
***Thursday A.M. instead***

Recite a poem that you have memorized this term.

Tell a tale about a Greek or Roman hero. (Fifty Famous Stories Retold)

Using an orange, explain one way in which we can tell the earth is a sphere. (Elementary Geography)

Explain why the American Revolution was fought. (Martha Washington)

Translate the following Spanish words into English: comer, globo, por favor, hola

***I felt better about exams today. I purposed to keep the feel of things light and relational instead of too "exam-y". We did not tape record, but I typed as fast as I could (which is pretty fast), all the while abbreviating a good bit and misspelling a lot in my efforts to keep up. I still had to ask her to wait for me to catch up, though. After SweetP finished each narration, I took a moment to go back through my typing and correct my typing errors. I liked this better than typing after recording, but SweetP (of course) really likes using the tape recorder. She did say (sweetly - her blog name fits her) that she doesn't like having to stop her narration to wait for me typing. That makes sense. I think for our final exam questions we will try Lindafay's method and tape record without transcription. I could always type a few narrations each term for written records.***


Wednesday P.M. (No exams today - we played hooky!)
Thursday P.M. instead

Tell all you know about the continent of Africa. (David Livingstone)

Count out 12 beans into one set. Tell how many beans will be left if you take four away? Show your work with the beans.

Tell a fairy tale or folk tale that we have read this term. (Treasury of Children's Literature)

Tell all you know about the nest-making habits of goldfinches. (Among the Forest People)

Sing "Frere Jacques"

***We're done!! This afternoon we used the tape recorder again. Aside from the one time SweetP got completely distracted by brushing dust off of the top of it right in the middle of her fairy tale narration, I would say this session went more smoothly than those I typed as she narrated. I would prefer to not transcribe today's narrations, but I remembered that I had told SweetP (a few weeks ago) I would type out her answers. She's a paper-loving child and the idea of a little book of her own narrations appealed to her greatly ;) So, I guess I'm going to type out some narrations tonight,*sigh*. Helpful tip - don't make silly commitments to transcribing exams unless you really like typing. This is an especially handy tip if your child is a rather prolific talker.***

Our Very First Exam Week - Ever!

Week twelve is now officially completed and that means one thing. We are about to embark on our very first ever exam week. I'm a little nervous. I'm trying to remember all the kind and encouraging words I've read at Higher Up and Further In about making exam week pleasurable and a highlight of the term. I'm trying to remember that I had similar feelings when we first began narrations, and look how well everything turned out. I'm sure it will be fine. There's just this funny insecurity because I have never done this before nor have I seen it done. It's just me, Charlotte Mason, and a few good blog posts tonight as I try to figure out exactly what I'm supposed to do.

I know that last line, "exactly what I'm supposed to do", is a little out of fashion right now in homeschooling circles. We hear a lot about how "supposed to" is like a dirty word in homeschooling. Someday, I am sure I will have tailored CM style exams to fit our family just right, but at this point, I'm wanting a good deal of guidance. The flex part can come later when I have a better idea of what I'm doing.

In reading other blogs and specific entries on exams, I've been surprised at how many comments seemed to think examinations were incompatible with Miss Mason's methods. Without a doubt, Charlotte Mason's students underwent an examination at the end of each term. Even the youngest ones.

Did you know that Charlotte Mason gives a very detailed outline of how these exams were conducted for each of the grade levels (forms)? Her explanation of Parents' Review School (the homeschool version of a PNEU school) examinations can be found in the appendix to Volume 3, School Education. (By the way, "drill" simply means exercises or calisthenics.) She writes the following:

"The Parents' Review School, an output of The Parents' Union, was, in the first place, designed to bring homeschools, taught by governesses, up to the standard of other schools. A Training College for governesses, with Practising School, etc., was established later. Children may not enter the School under six; because we think the first six years of life are wanted for physical growth and the self-education which children carry on with little ordered aid. The Parents' Review school is conducted by means of programmes of work, in five classes, sent out, term by term, to each of the home schools (and to some other schools); and the same programmes are used in the Practising School. Examination papers are set at the end of each term.

The work is arranged on the principles which have been set forth in this volume; a wide curriculum, a considerable number of books for each child in the several classes, and, besides, a couple of hours' work daily, not with Books but with Things. Many of the pupils in the school have absorbed, in a way, the culture of their parents; but the children of uncultured parents take with equal readiness and comparable results to this sort of work, which is, I think, fitted, not only for the clever, but also for the average and even the dull child.

Class 1a. - The child of six goes into Class 1a.; he works for 2 and 1/2 hours a day, but half an hour of this time is spent in drill and games. Including drill, he has thirteen 'subjects' of study, for which about sixteen books are used. He recited hymns, poems, and Bible verses; works from Messrs Sonnenschein and Nesbitt's ABC Arithmetic; sings French and English songs; begins Mrs. Curwen's Child Pianist, learns to write and to print, learns to read, learns French orally, does brushdrawing and various handicrafts. All these things are done with joy, but cannot be illustrated here. Bible lessons, read from the Bible; tales, natural history, and geography are taught from appointed books, helped by the child's own observation.

Our plan in each of these subjects is to read to him the passage for the lesson (a good long passage), talk about it a little, avoiding much explanation, and then let him narrate what has been read. This he does very well and with pleasure, and is often happy with catching the style as well as the words of the author.

Certain pages, say 40 or 50, from each of the children's books are appointed for a term's reading. At the end of the term an examination paper is sent out containing one or two questions on each book. Here are a few of the answers. The children in the first two classes narrate their answers, which someone writes from their dictation."

Miss Mason then goes on to cite specific exam questions and answers from students in each of the grade levels. The narrations these children give are truly illuminating for the modern CM mother. Do you ever wonder what Charlotte Mason's standards were for children the same age as yours? Rest assured, sister, they were high. If you'd like to read the exam answers, Ambleside Online has them available here. I've typed enough tonight ;)

I will, however, list out the example questions that were sent out to the Parents' Review School homes. These questions are for Form 1a. (six or seven year old children).

* Tell the story of Naaman.

* Tell a fairy story. (If you don't read any other answers, read this one!)

* What have you noticed (yourself) about a spider?

* Gather three sorts of leaf-buds and two sorts of catkin, and tell all you can about them.

* Tell about The North-West Passage.

Of course, this is just a sampling. Miss Mason indicated that the examination paper included one to two questions for each of the books used within the course of the term. She reported that roughly sixteen books were used to cover thirteen 'subjects'. We have not, in our little homeschool, had a "full load" CM term. This was our first term of Year One (Form 1a.), and I felt the need to ease into things a bit. We have not included all of the subjects at this point; although, I plan to include all of them by the middle of the second term. For our first term, we had about 11 books, including our poetry and math books (we read well over fifty pages from each of them - something to improve next term - more later). I'll be working on questions from each of those books tomorrow night, and we'll be doing exam narrations on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week.

I'm still learning, ladies. Little by little :)

Beginning Narration

After my first post on SweetP's beginning narrations, I read through some more of Charlotte Mason's first book, Home Education. It turns out that my daughter is not a prodigy after all! ;) Here's what Miss Mason has to say about the average child and narration:

"Narration is an art, like poetry-making or painting, because it is there, in every child's mind, waiting to be discovered and is not the result of any process of disciplinary education. A creative fiat calls it forth. 'Let him narrate'; and the child narrates, fluently, copiously, in ordered sequence, with fit and graphic details, with a just choice of words, without verbosity or tautology, as soon as he can speak with ease."

So, basically, if Miss Mason had read my first entry, she would have graciously smiled and said something to the effect of, "Yes, dear. That was a lovely first narration. What did you expect?" Telling is a natural ability of each child.

I would have wondered if perhaps Miss Mason wasn't exaggerating a bit when she said children were ready to narrate as soon as their language skills were developed if I hadn't heard Punkin (almost 3 years old) narrate of her own invention yesterday afternoon. Mind you, she had never heard SweetP narrate. Thinking back, I know the older two girls did the same at her age, and I think, younger. I had just read Katy No Pocket and I gave her the book to look at while I nursed the baby. I sat quietly as she "read" the book aloud to herself. Her narration went something like this:

"Then Katy went to the city. She saw the man with the apron. 'Pleeeaaase, may I have your apron?' she asked. The man gave her his man-sized apron and shook it reaaally hard. Then Katy had the most pockets in the world."

Charlotte was right. Again. My three year old just narrated and I was silly to worry that my six year old might have a hard time. It was Mama who needed a little practice with it, not her. The practice has been good, though. I'm gaining some confidence in how to correctly lead a child in narration.

Adapting the AO Booklists to Fit Our Needs

Recently, cb, one of the frequent visitors here asked me how we fit all of the Ambleside Online readings into our weeks. The truth is that we don't. I've tried to credit AO for the books that we do use from their list (and give those dear women thanks, too!), but also make it plain that not everything we use is from the AO booklist. We have adapted the AO coursework quite a bit, and we continue to do so. Ambleside Online is an excellent resource for the CM family, and I truly praise the Lord for the work the AO advisory has put into helping others develop a curriculum that works for them. But, I think it's important to remember that the advisory gives us the freedom to adapt things here and there to fit our needs. They even mention on the AO site that many parents take an individualized approach to AO. That doesn't mean that those families are using "lesser" versions of Charlotte Mason's methods. There are many excellent books available today.

I prepare our little "schedule" (read that word loosely) for the school week each Sunday night. I'm doing it a bit earlier today because my children are under the weather and napping right now. I may not feel up to it tonight. I've been thinking some about our books for the term, and trying to pin down exactly what wasn't feeling "right" about our lesson time. For instance, I have felt a bit overloaded with the AO literature selections. Not that there is too much to read in a week, but I have felt that the bouncing back and forth between four literature books and a book or two for free reading has left me feeling a bit scattered. The children enjoy all of the books and look forward to all of the books, but I began to consider knocking a few out of the schedule and just letting the girls read them on their own when they had the inclination.

The first book I took out was Parables From Nature by Gatty. This is an excellent book and a beautifully written one. I found, though, that Charlotte Mason's PNEU schools used it as a "Sunday reading" book, and we decided to designate it the same. It is now one of the choices the girls have for their Sunday afternoon reading. They often choose it and enjoy the readings. They do not, however, need to narrate it or read it on a schedule. I read the book before the term began, so I can sometimes strike up a conversation about the story, but sometimes I don't.

Just this weekend I looked through the PNEU school curricula for Year One again. I wanted to see how many books Miss Mason's schools used for literature. Each year, Miss Mason chose different books for the children. Each term was different than the same term from the preceding year. So, some of the Year One literature booklists had only fairy tales and Aesop's fables listed or only two books such as Pilgrim's Progress and The Heroes of Asgard while other (later) years had three. None of the PNEU curricula that I reviewed had more than three literature selections for a single term in Year One. Ambleside Online lists five different books for the first term of Year One: Parables from Nature (which we moved to Sunday reading), Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, The Aesop for Children, Just So Stories, and The Blue Fairy Book. What does this mean for us? This means that now I get to personalize the AO booklist :) Five is too many for our little family right now; so, we made a few "cuts", but still kept the cut books in the bookshelf for free reading. We cut out everything from the official schedule but the fairy tales and Aesop. I firmly believe that this is not too little for us. More than a few of the PNEU years used only these two books for "tales" for the youngest students. In fact, the curricula list only three of each for an entire term! That means only nine fairy tales all year and only 9 Aesop's fables all year! I plan on reading a little more than that, so I'm actually doing more literature reading than the PNEU schools did even after dropping three AO books!

With these changes made, I have more time to read a few of the "extra" read alouds that I really look forward to reading with the children. We're finishing up The Secret Garden, and then we'll be reading The Magician's Nephew. The children will still pull Kipling and Gatty from the shelf to read on their own regularly. I feel really good about the way this fits us.

So, that's one example of how we modify the great information from AO to personalize our curriculum :) Hope this encourages someone!

More on Schedules and Routines

I don't want to give you all the wrong idea, though. I do plan, just not in detail and not more than a week out. I plan our school weeks on Sunday nights, I plan my housework after I get an idea of the weather forecast, and I plan our days roughly the night before. I have an idea of my priorities for the day and into what order those priorities are going to fall. For instance, yesterday was unseasonably warm, but my kitchen needed some bigtime help. So, we didn't have a Park Day, but the children did play outside for three hours while I cleaned (with the kitchen door and window open, watching them and keeping things positive where needed). The kitchen was high priority yesterday. We got to our booklist readings, did some more drawing, and SweetP and I talked through a living math lesson, but not much more than that. I had gotten behind on the kitchen and it needed attention.

Today, it's gray and windy. Today's priorities (physically, there are others spiritually) are to focus in on more structured lessons, dust and vacuum the downstairs (we do it together), and work on some training issues with Punkin. Hopefully, we'll get a nature walk in around the neighborhood if the weather cooperates.

We do not have a schedule with designated times and time increments.

We do have a routine that we follow in general, with a set order - this thing always follows this other thing, but without set times and durations. That's up until about mid-morning. After that, things are highly variable.

So, I'm not completely bohemian ;) I guess it depends on the day. Somedays look fairly close to what Miss Mason suggests - morning lessons and afternoons outside. On those days, the little ones are the ones who flex the most. Somedays are more of what I call my "unofficial unschooler" days. At least, that's what they feel like to me. I stress out if I try to get each day to fit into some preconceived plan that just isn't going to fit. You know about the square peg and the round hole? I want my pegs and holes to match up ;) I'm hoping today will be a little more structured so Friday can be a little more bohemian when my sister visits ;)

We'll see.

My Bohemian Spin on Year One

One of the things that I've been working on since our first term began in late September, is fitting in everything I want to fit in every week. Charlotte Mason's methods, as you know, call for many subjects. It helps me to take a look at the breakdown for one of Miss Mason's PNEU schools, Year One. From there, I can work out our own little plan. Here's what a week's work looked like for a PNEU child roughly between the ages of 6 and 7:

Old Testament - 2x a week (about 20 minutes w/ narration)
New Testament - 2x a week (about 20 minutes w/ narration)
Printing - 2x a week (about 10-20 minutes)
Writing - 2x a week (pretty certain this is cursive - about 10-20 minutes)
Drawing - 1x a week (about 20 minutes)
Repetition - 3x a week (poem,parable,or hymn - this is memorizing - about 10 mins.)
French - 3x a week (about 10 minutes)
Number - 6x a week (CM schools met on Saturday - this is math - about 20 mins.)
Reading - 6x a week (instruction - 30 minutes)
Natural History - 3x a week (10 minutes)
Picture Talk - 1x a week (10 minutes)
Geography - 2x a week (10 minutes)
Drill/Dancing - 3x a week (this is calisthenics or dancing - about 30 minutes)
Sol-fa - 2x a week (see AO's explanation - about 15 minutes)
French song - 1x a week (15 minutes)
Handicrafts - 4x a week (20 minutes)
Brushdrawing - 2x a week (this is drawing with a paint brush - about 20 minutes)

I'm in the process of adapting and flexing the PNEU schedule to fit our lives. For one thing, I should make it clear that when I need to deviate from Miss Mason's nitty gritty details in order to be able to accomplish the bigger picture, I do. For instance, Miss Mason recommended that children finish lessons before noon, that way they could have the entire afternoon to enjoy outdoors or do handicrafts or pursue other interests. Great. That makes sense. Children are bright and fresh in the morning, it's a great time for lessons.

BUT, in the afternoon, Punkin and Little Dude nap for 2 and 1/2 hours. That means morning would be school and afternoon would be nap and when do I get to be with my sweet babies? My time with the younger two is seriously hampered by a morning school schedule. We can do it, but it is not my first choice. I have four children, not just two. I need to work out a way to take all four into consideration without *homeschooling* running the show. As the school age children get older, they will be able to do more of their schoolwork independently - and in the morning. For now, though, we flex.

So, I'm a teensy bit deviant. I do some lessons in the morning, usually Bible, handwriting, and reading instruction. These subjects really are best done in the morning when the children are fresh. Math often happens before lunch, too. The rest I save for naptime. Yes, that's right dear bloggy friends, it's not uncommon for us to be finishing up the day's reading at 4:30pm or later. In fact, on days that My Sam does history tales with the children, those readings are after dinner and more like 7pm or later. For our family, it seems to be working best to let school kind of weave through the other parts of the day. It isn't really segregated into its own room or its own time slot. Lessons happen in short segments throughout the day. This helps me get the children all outside together for longer periods of time. It helps me get housework done. And, believe it or not, it helps me get school work done. If brushwork has to happen at 10:15am, it probably won't get done. If it can happen at the kitchen table and it's almost 5:30pm and I'm in the kitchen getting dinner anyway, that's more doable for me.

The children are being presented with new ideas daily in a home where interests are fostered and encouraged. That's part of the big picture. Sure, that means that drawing may come at dusk on some days, but that's better than not at all, and better than losing my head over trying to fit everything into a morning block of time just because Charlotte says morning is best.

Cindy at Dominion Family has a great post discussing the importance of an atmosphere of learning instead of just a good schedule. I think you'd enjoy reading what she has to say.

That's where I got the bohemian phrase ;)

A Sample Week: Year One Week Two

This is not the official Ambleside Online reading list. I have taken a good deal of liberty with arranging, rearranging, deleting, and adding. For the AO list, please visit the Ambleside Online homepage. Also, some of the books are really for Punkin :)

Our schedule this week will still not include all of our subjects, but we will be getting closer to the full schedule. This week we will be adding the following: daily penmanship (copywork), recitation/memory work, math, drill & dance, phonics and reading with Shug, brushwork, Spanish & ASL, and handicrafts. Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Most of these "new" subjects are not everyday, though. Also, remember, those CM lessons are short! :) Here we go...

Monday (A.M.):

I still want to try to start lessons by 8:00am! - yeah, right. Little Dude was up several times again last night... definitely teething. I heard the alarm, but I turned it off and rolled over. We started lessons after 9:30am. Our latest morning yet. BUT, we did get everything but poetry done. No biggie, we aren't on a poetry schedule anyway. We'll just read some tomorrow :)

Bible* - Genesis 12:1-6

20 minutes of chores after breakfast* - actually more like 30 minutes today

Copywork* - Shug practiced d,b,and r and SweetP wrote the first verse of Psalm 150

Recitation* - Psalm 150:1-3

Took a 45 minute break outside around 10:45am. The rain stopped and it was nice out, even though it was cloudy. Found the largest stinkbug I've ever seen. He was on the trunk of one of the plum trees. Put him in a magnifying container and SweetP drew him for her nature notebook. Also found an unidentified cocoon on the sugar maple. Orbette (our "pet" orb weaver garden spider) made the most perfect web this morning. All our cold-blooded friends were moving a bit slowly this a.m.

Math* - 2 pages from FFrogs. Also, talked about sets and different set combinations totaling 6.

Drill and Dance* - What great fun! Reviewed "Forward and Back" and how to "swing" a partner. Dancing the Bastringue.

Took a 30 minute walk around the neighborhood after lunch and before nap. Girls were able to get fairly close to a Killdeer. He screeched so loudly when he flew away. Everyone jumped :) Picked fuzzy grasses, queen anne's lace. Empty lots have their advantages :)

Read Milne at lunchtime* - this was before nap, Eeyore lost his tail

Mother Goose rhymes before nap* - this was after nap

Monday (P.M.):

Among the Forest People - Chapt. 2* - great book, excellent narrations today...often in a British accent, lol. Must be from The Secret Garden and B. Potter :) Or maybe I tend to read Milne with a touch of an accent???

Livingstone biography - Chapt. 2* - Shug joined in this week

Phonics Pathways* - ummmm, not sure what we're going to do with phonics this year. I tried to figure out where Shug was in the PP book (in terms of reading skill) and she's at the end. I don't want to begin spelling with her yet, though. She's only 5. Maybe we'll just read together until I notice trouble words. Need to think more about this...

Brushwork* Used tube paints in primary colors. Explored mixing to get secondary colors: purple, green, orange. SweetP even came up with a really lovely brown by mixing purple with some green.

Poetry - Missed this today.

3 more books for Punkin - May not get these in today. Plan on playing outside most of the evening. It's bee-u-ti-ful out there right now! :)



Tuesday (A.M.):

I still want to try to start lessons by 8:00am! This is getting funny. We did not start by 8am. When is it considered giving up and when is it considered adjusting to reality???

Bible* read from Vos Bible storybook about Abraham leaving home

20 minutes of chores after breakfast* more or less

Copywork (from Phonics Pathways)* Gave SweetP 6 words for her copywork. She will copy them again on Thursday and will have them for dictation on Friday.

Spanish/ASL* Lyric Language CD - "Roll on, Roll on, Pretty River!" We rock out in the van to this song :)

Folk song "Turkey in the Straw" - Had a great time listening to this in the van with my sis. We went up mom & dad's house today, so we made the most of the van time. We listened to this song several times, but also listened to other folk songs. "Shenandoah" has been a favorite since early this summer.

Little House in the Big Woods at lunchtime* read this to Joy in the p.m. while Sam read Damon & Pythias to the older two.

Poems to Read to the Very Young before nap* read outside while Joy rested on a cushiony lounge chair in Mom & Dad's backyard. Also sang nursery rhymes to her :) She eventually moved inside, but still never napped. Not a good away from home napper.



Tuesday (P.M.):

Reading with Shug - still trying to figure out what we're doing. I gave her some copywork this morning from PP.

Aesop - The Boy Who Cried Wolf (CBOV)* Read it on porch steps with the two oldest. Very strong narrations.

George Washington - D'Aulaire, 3 pgs.* The girls really like this book :) Read it in the swing in parents' backyard. Nana narrated, too :)

Poetry* from Poems to Read to the Very Young today instead of the usual book

Handicrafts - didn't happen. Decided to let the girls ride bikes all afternoon instead.

Damon & Pythias - w/ Sam*

3 more books for Punkin - didn't happen. She rode her bike a lot today and after we left Mom & Dad's we took Sissy home and wound up having dinner at Heather & Brian's house. It was getting close to bedtime by the time we were home. I did read all of the poetry book this afternoon, though, and a good bit of Little House to her. She's doing well with it. She likes the pages with the pictures best, but she's listening intently. Somehow the first chapter always seems strange with a very little one. Gutting deer and hanging them in trees and all that. I think it bothers them less than I think it will, though ;) Maybe, just maybe we can start lessons by 8am tomorrow. I'm going to bed now!



Wednesday (A.M.):

I still want to try to start lessons by 8:00am! - Now I'm laughing.

I was feeling OLD this morning, and I really needed to go slowly. I made spelt muffins and sent the girls out to play before 9am. They played for quite a while this morning. I thought of you, Amanda, and wondered if any of my neighbors were tsk tsking about the children being out ;) If I get reported, I have my proof! We really, truly did all of school today :) SweetP had a captive grasshopper for a bit and later came to me with grasshopper "scat" on the end of a dried shaft of panicum grass. "Look, Mama!" We did Bible and reading outside, then came in for copywork.

Bible* Luke 2:1-20

20 minutes of chores after breakfast*

Copywork* Shug did a review page from A Reason for Handwriting Book K and SweetP copied Psalm 150:1

Recitation* Getting Psalm 150:1-3 down fairly well

Math* Great math day. Did 2 pages of Funtastic Frogs, but the best part was combining different sets of frogs to total five. I would say something like, "Make five using three sets of frogs". Then SweetP would have to decide how to show five with three sets. She got excited when she came up with the answer. A set of 2 blue frogs, a set of 2 green frogs, and 1 red frog. Then we would say the math sentence - "2 plus 2 plus 1 makes 5". She made 5 in 4 different ways. We also discussed the meaning of "empty set".

Drill & Dancing* short today. We learned how to circle right and circle left and also how to curtsey :)

Milne at lunchtime* Piglet met up with a heffalump - one of my favorites

Mother Goose rhymes before nap* I recited some and sang some as I cleaned up after lunch, no book

*read The Seasons of Arnold's Appletree before nap

Wednesday (P.M.):

Reading w/ Shug * This was actually in the morning today. Decided to listen to Shug read through the first 3 chapters of Genesis over the next few weeks, about 10 verses at a time. When she came to a word she didn't know this morning, I wrote that word on a plain white index card. After the lesson, we put the index cards into a letter envelope on which I wrote "Kindergarten Sight Words". She ate it up :) Her sight words today, from Genesis 1:1-9, were "void" and "expanse". I noted that she could not sound out "void". Tomorrow, we'll be doing the Phonics Pathways lesson that covers "oi" words and words with the same sound. We'll go back to Genesis on Friday. We'll see how this works. She loves the idea.

George Washington - D'Aulaire, 3 pgs.* Getting exciting - French forts in the Ohio wilderness!

The Secret Garden - Chapt. 21*

Lapharp* Most of our time was spent tuning the things! They aren't perfect, but at least the songs are recognizable now. We'll get to a song or two later in the week. Each of the older girls played random little tunes for a bit while I laid Punkin down for nap.

Handicrafts - Nope, guess we'll start next week. We'll be sewing :)

3 more books to Punkin*



Thursday (A.M.):

I still want to try to start lessons by 8:00am! - This is getting embarrassing. Good for my pride, I guess ;)

Bible* read from Vos story Bible

20 minutes of chores after breakfast* did about an hour of housework upstairs w/ the children

Copywork (from Phonics Pathways)* Shug copied "moist" (5x) and "point" (1x), SweetP copied her phonics word list again

Spanish/ASL* reviewed colors and numbers, began shapes - circulo, rectangulo, diamante, and triangulo

Cursive w/ SweetP* on dry erase board, writing our last name

Little House in the Big Woods at lunchtime* moved to evening while Sam does "A Laconic Answer"

A Child's Garden of Verses before nap* with all 3 girls

Thursday (P.M.):

Reading with Shug* did page 172 in PP, "oi" words

George Washington - D'Aulaire, 3 pgs.*

Paddle to the Sea, 2 pgs.* we did one page, that's what AO recommends. The three pages I did last week were enough to get the story sufficiently underway. Today, with three narrations and some mapwork, one page was enough. We have a large laminated map of the U.S. on a bulletin board and we are following Paddle along with blue pushpins :)

Brushwork - ditched it for a nap for Mama and some after nap time outside

A Laconic Answer - w/ Sam*

3 more books for Punkin*



Friday (A.M.):

I still want to try to start lessons by 8:00am! - I'm going to quit writing this ;]

Bible* Psalm 150

20 minutes of chores after breakfast*

Dictation, SweetP only (then, cat, cap, rock, kiss, kill, sock - starting easy), Shug copied "point" 4x

Spanish/ASL

Math* adding 3 sets to make 5 or 6. Wrote and discussed "plus" sign. I placed 3 sets of frog counters on the floor and SweetP wrote the math sentence on a dry erase board. For example, "3 + 2 + 1 is 6". She did three sentences that way. Showed how the order of the sets does not change the total number, "2 + 1 + 3" is also 6. Then, I wrote a math sentence or two and SweetP placed the sets of frogs out.

Drill & Dance - no dice today. Mama's working on a headache. I'm glad we finished what we did.

Milne at lunchtime - no Milne, but we read Oxcart Man and Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

The Little Red Hen at lunchtime*

Friday (P.M.):

Reading with Shug* she read Gen 1:9-19, stumbled a bit on "seasons". We talked about words where "s" is pronounced like "z". Wrote these words on dry erase board for her to read. Added "seasons" to her sight word envelope.

Geography (continents mapwork)* SweetP took off on this while the 2 other girls napped and I fed Little Dude his peas. We have a blackline dry erase map of the world. I gave her the words "Africa", "Indian Ocean", and "Atlantic Ocean" so she could copy them onto their proper places on the map in dry erase marker. Baby was still chowing away, so SweetP kept asking me how to spell different continents. By the time I finished feeding Dude his babyfood, SweetP had labelled, Africa, Antarctica, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Greenland (made sure she knows this isn't a continent), North and South America, and Asia. This sort of thing is right up her alley. She loved it :)

Handicrafts - did brushwork instead

The Secret Garden - Chapt. 22*

3 more books for Punkin*

Example Week: Year One Week One

**Just wanted to clarify that we NEVER got started with lessons by 8:00 AM. Eventually, I gave up on even having this as a goal :) Didn't want anyone to think that we actually did that. It seemed like a good idea, but reality set in rather quickly ;)**

This is not the official Ambleside Online reading list. I have taken a good deal of liberty with arranging, rearranging, deleting, and adding. For the AO list, please visit the Ambleside Online homepage.

Our schedule this week will not include all of our subjects. We are using this week to ease back in to a school day routine. All of the readings will include narration. I'd really like to be able to work with Shug some this week with her drawing and I also want to work with watercolors once this week. Shug has also started making her circles clockwise - need to fix that :) Punkin will be learning about seasons and we'll introduce a shortened version of our preschool Apple theme for her. Some of my goals are not directly related to the curriculum, but instead relate more to family life and running the household. Prayer is always good :) Here are our hopes for the coming week:

Do 20 mins. of chores after breakfast each day

Begin Lessons at 8:00am each day

Monday:

Before we even got going this morning, SweetP asked, "Mama, what's 'the fall of Rome'?" Checked my facts in an encyclopedia and we discussed it for a few minutes (Yay for books in the house - I wouldn't have come up with Germanic Barbarians on my own, lol.)

Began lessons at around 9:15am - we'll try again for 8 tomorrow ;)

We did 20 minutes of morning chores after breakfast*

Bible*

I made my bed

Among the Forest People - Chapt. 1* (love it!!)

Livingstone - Chapt. 1* (lion attack, intense, SweetP only. Looked at Africa on the globe. Found the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Equator, and Victoria Falls)

Poetry* (favorite was "Somewhere" by Walter de la Mare)

A.A. Milne (kindergarten)* ("We Are Introduced to Winnie-the-Pooh and Some Bees, and the Stories Begin" - somehow Pooh just feels restful. I like that.)

5 books for Punkin* (6 if you count the one SweetP read to her)

Work on counterclockwise circles w/ Shug* (also "o", "a" on the dry erase board)

An Island Story - Chapt. 1 (Sam in P.M.)* (with 2 oldest girls - Hubby even listened to a narration from SweetP)

Well, we got everything on the list read and narrated today, but not without a few eventful moments. The actual "school" part went fine, but everything was against us getting outside today. LOL, more later... ;) Thanks for your prayers and encouragement! We're feeling a bit better, btw. Little Dude is still the worst off - gunky nose, poor guy.

Tuesday:

Began lessons around 9:00am - a little improvement, *sigh*. We were ready at 8:30, but baby peed on himself.

Girls did 20 minutes of chores after breakfast, but I bathed Dude & fed him, washed his sheets- did chores later

Bible*

Aesop: Hercules and the Wagoner* (discussed why the moral isn't truthful. A better choice might be "Do thine own part faithfully." from the hymn 'If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee' - old PCA days, lol)

I dusted and vacuumed the living room after Aesop/ older girls played in family room/ Punkin helped me dust

Just So Stories: Whale* (Vocab "astute", "infinite", "sagacity"- Shug got SO excited when it mentioned Albion)

I put new sheets on Dude's mattress before his nap, then I broke the crib - literally. *sigh, again*

Poetry* (favorite was "The Secret Cavern" by Margaret Widdemer)

D'Aulaire's George Washington: 2 pgs.* (discussed slavery a bit)

Work on counterclockwise circles w/ Shug* (also "o", "a", and "d" on the dry erase board)

5 books for Punkin*

50 Famous Stories - Sword of Damocles* (Sam in P.M.) (Sam wrote out "Dionysius" and "Damocles" on the dry erase board beforehand. SweetP had a hard time narrating this one. Sam more or less discussed it with them afterward. Concepts a bit abstract, it seems.)

I feel like I ran a marathon and I never did get around to making my bed today. Little Dude still not shaking this cold :( Joy asked me today if Aunt Sissy was coming soon. Hopefully, we'll see her at the end of the week :)

Wednesday:

Began lessons by 9:15am. I chose to let the children sleep in a bit because I wanted to have breakfast alone with Sam. He left for NYC today. I also chose to hold off on most of our lessons until the 2 youngest were down for nap. Not sure yet if that was a good idea or not.

We did not do chores right after breakfast. Instead, because there was a lull in the rain, we went for a nature walk around the neighborhood. Incorporated map study by drawing a little map of the corner and a dozen or so trees that are there.

We did chores after our (rather lengthy) walk*

Bible*

Parables From Nature - Faith*

Little House in the Big Woods - half of Chapt. 1 (Joy's first time!)*

Poetry (didn't get to this today)

D'Aulaire's George Washington: 2 pgs.*

A.A. Milne (kindergarten): ("Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets Into a Tight Place")*

5 books for Punkin*

Drawing with Shug (Draw-Write-Now Book 1)*

Also, older 2 girls played the card game "War" together in the afternoon (greater than, less than)*

Added in copywork (Shug copied o,a,d,g again and SweetP copied "Praise the LORD!"*

Began memorizing Psalm 150*

Folksongs and dancing/exercise in family room for about 20 minutes ("Turkey in the Straw" is a fave)

I made a big mistake today with SweetP's narration of Parables of Nature. She has been narrating so fluidly and with such great detail that I thought she might be able to narrate once at the end of the reading. I turned out to be entirely too much for her to narrate in one fell swoop, and she became flustered and overwhelmed. Poor thing. It was foolish of me, really. I know I'm not *supposed* to read twice, but I felt that I had to give her another chance since the mistake had been my own. I'm also not *supposed* to ask a beginning narrator to narrate an entire reading at once. I'm also not *supposed* to do lessons in the afternoon. That whole lesson was a big CM failure.

On the bright side, though, I did get a chance to explain again why we even do narrations at all. I emphasized how narrations help SweetP fix the story in her mind and are really part of the learning process - not just a test of what she remembers. I wanted to ease any sense of pressure she may have been feeling. Testing, as such, is a nasty process - I saw a glimpse today of how a test-oriented misunderstanding of narration could take the focus off of the material and onto the "performance". Lord willing, we dealt sufficiently with the issue this afternoon. Her next narration (of the D'Aulaire book) was lively and detailed again. Phew. Thank you, Lord, for covering over my mistakes.

Thursday:

This is a light day. Yay. I hope to add in some recitation, copywork, and something for our nature notebooks. Collected leaves yesterday, so we may try to identify those trees and press the leaves. Sissy is visiting, too, so it's nice that we don't have a full school schedule going. She'll probably read all of the books to Punkin ;)

Began schoolwork by 9:00am - maybe I should just give in :[

Did 20 minutes of chores after breakfast*

*Heather did come today and she read 3 books to Punkin. I love my sister. Also, my mom came down last night so I'd have another adult in the house with us. I love my Mom, too. See you tomorrow night, Mom!*

Bible* (John 9, helped illustrate concept of "faith", clarifying Parables of Nature a bit)

Poetry* (favorite was "Rathers" by Mary Austin - Shug just helped me remember the poet, lol)

D'Auliare's George Washington: 2 pgs.* (did 3 pages instead, really took time to enjoy the illustrations today)

5 books for Punkin*

Drawing with Shug (Draw-Write-Now Book 1)*

Read through Psalm 150:1,2 several times for memorization*

Copywork* (Shug worked on o,a,d and SweetP wrote "Praise the LORD in his sanctuary;")

Playdoh*

Had "Aunt Sissy Time" instead of doing nature notebooks

Good, good day today. I think I'm starting to get a feel for what to do in the morning and what to save for the afternoon. Also, if we're going to do some work during naptime, I have to get the youngest two down by 1:15pm or so. Much later than that and the older two are too toasted to give much attention by the end of lessons. Good day today. We're getting there... I'm looking forward to tomorrow.



Friday:

Finally! Today felt right :) *relieved sigh* Amanda asked me earlier this week, "Isn't this fun?!" and my honest reaction was, "No. It's exhausting." Today, though, we found a groove. Of course, now we have to add more into the picture for the beginning of next week, but at least we ended this week without Mama wondering if she'd completely lost her mind :)

We began "lessons" today at 9:45 am - and in a prairie. The morning was so beautiful, I decided to head for the great outdoors before we did anything else. We were moderately successful animal trackers - we located the tracks of one mature deer with a fawn. We were able to follow their walk for about 30 feet along the muddy trail. SweetP noted how they stayed to one side of the path and Shug found several spots that looked like deer had bedded there. Goldenrod, asters, and prairie coreopsis were everywhere - beautiful. We stayed at the arboretum for about 2 and 1/2 hours. Had lunch from Tim Hortons on the way home (I mentioned that just for P Steve).

All of our lessons were during naptime. SweetP and Shug did fine with that today and didn't seem too tired. We did not do any copywork. Honestly, the days that we did copywork this week were a "bonus"; I hadn't planned on officially beginning handwriting until next week. Mom is coming over again this evening to spend the night with us. Considering that Little Dude was up no less than four times last night (teething?), I'm very glad to have her with us :) I'm always glad for her visits, but this one is especially appreciated. Sam comes home late tomorrow afternoon. Yay.

Bible* (Exodus 25:1-8 describing the offerings for the building of the tabernacle - God's earthly sanctuary)

Recitiation* (Read aloud through Psalm 150:1,2 together twice. Talked about "Praise God in his sanctuary")

Paddle to the Sea - Chapt. 1* (We cheated. This was the very beginning of the book and the first chapter was ONE page long. I read the first three chapters (three pages total) just to get into the story a bit. The girls really, really enjoyed this book. SweetP narrated chapters 2 and 3. I'll try just reading one page next time, but I felt like it was worth it to get "into" the story a bit here at the beginning. Believe me, they are highly anticipating following along with Paddle on his adventures!)

Poetry* (Favorite was "For a Child" by Fannie Stearns Davis. Shug is really getting into the poems. She actually asked to take our poetry book up with her for rest time yesterday.)

A.A. Milne (kindergarten): ("Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting and Nearly Catch a Woozle". Punkin asked me if we were going to read about "catching the weasel". I told her we were and then she said that she didn't like that one. "My sisters like that one, but I don't like that one. May we please read a different one". Sure, honey ;) Woosels apparently unnerve more than just Pooh Bear.

5 books for Punkin (we'll reach this point by tonight)

Watercolors* (Used tubed colors for the first time. Played around with adding more water and changed the shades of green from dark to light. Worked on brushdrawing ovals (tip from a Parent's Review article). Then, SweetP and I brushdrew (sounds funny) one of the leaves from our Wednesday nature walk. We'll add it to her nature notebook when it dries. We always take longer w/ watercolors than I mean to. It was a profitable lesson, though.

Animal Tracking :)* (SweetP also studied the introduction to our tracking field guide. She drew a picture of a white-tailed deer and assigned herself copywork. She was writing common tracking terms down when I came downstairs from laying the baby down. She's a crack up.)

Praise the Lord that our first week is under our belts! Part of me wishes everyone could be in kindergarten forever, but I think I'm just adjusting to the change. It will probably take a full three weeks to start hitting the groove on a regular basis. Thank you for your prayers, everyone!

Formidable List of Attainments

"A Formidable List of Attainments for a Child of Six", a reprint
of a curriculum outline from a CM school in the 1890's.

from Summer 93 Parents Review pub by Karen Andreola


1. To recite, beautifully, 6 easy poems and hymns
2. to recite, perfectly and beautifully, a parable and a psalm
3. to add and subtract numbers up to 10, with dominoes or counters
4. to read--what and how much, will depend on what we are told of the child
5. to copy in print-hand from a book
6. to know the points of the compass with relation to their own home, where the sun rises and sets, and the way the wind blows
7. to describe the boundries of their own home
8. to describe any lake, river, pond, island etc. within easy reach
9. to tell quite accurately (however shortly) 3 stories from Bible history, 3 from early English, and 3 from early Roman history (my note here, we may want to substitute early American for early English!)
10. to be able to describe 3 walks and 3 views
11. to mount in a scrap book a dozen common wildflowers, with leaves (one every week); to name these, describe them in their own words, and say where they found them.
12. to do the same with leaves and flowers of 6 forest trees
13. to know 6 birds by song, colour and shape
14. to send in certain Kindergarten or other handiwork, as directed
15. to tell three stories about their own "pets"--rabbit, dog or cat.
16. to name 20 common objects in French, and say a dozen little sentences
17. to sing one hymn, one French song, and one English song
18. to keep a caterpillar and tell the life-story of a butterfly from his own observations.

Tips for Leading a Child in Narration

"Attentiveness is a vital part of understanding and remembering, for one does not know what one has not attended to. The practice of oral and written narration is a way for the learner to acquire knowledge as well as to be held accountable in an active way for what is seen, read, and heard."

- Maryellen St. Cyr in When Children Love to Learn



Besides Charlotte Mason's writings, When Children Love to Learn has been the most helpful book in explaining the hows and whys of the CM method to me. In particular, the chapter on narration has been one that I have read over and over again. For a mother about to begin a year of schooling in which narration is meant to be a pivotal tool in nearly every subject, concrete help like that found in that book is very much appreciated :) Over the last few months, I have been gathering together a few "tips" in how to correctly implement narration methods with my oldest daughter. Several of the tips are word-for-word from When Children Love to Learn - I've denoted those quotes with an asterisk. Other tips have come through the CM Moms of Many email group or through information I have come across in the last year or so (but can't remember the source). Here's my little compilation of CM narration tips:

1) Before beginning a first narration, many mothers have found it useful to first narrate once or twice for their child. A short, lively story that captures the child's imagination is desirable for a first exercise in narration.

2) Read (or at least skim) the passage beforehand to note any vocabulary words or phrases that may be exceptionally difficult. Also note dates, cumbersome proper nouns, geographical references, or foreign words that may need a bit of explaining before the passage is read. Some readings will require more "background prep" than others.

3) Write all of the more difficult proper nouns out on a chalkboard/dry erase board before the passage is read.Allow the child to refer to these words when narrating.

4) Begin a lesson with a short narration of the previous lesson.*

5) Explain that you will be requiring a narration from the passage, then read it only ONCE. This is a very important point. As St. Cyr notes, "It is impossible to fix attention on that which we have heard before and know we shall hear again."

6) Narrate less before you narrate more.* By this, it is meant that a young child should narrate shorter passages than a child who has been narrating for some time. With the progression of time and skill, narration passages become longer.

7) Also consider the type of book when determining the length of the passage for a narration. With a closely packed book, one or two paragraphs between narrations are sufficient.*

8) Never interrupt or prompt a person narrating even if a person mispronounces a word. Persons soon forget what they were going to say next when interrupted.* (I am trying to figure out how to record the narration without having to interrupt in order to catch up with my daughter. I'm considering tape recording her narrations and then writing them).

9) When the narration is finished, ask the child if he would like to include anything else. Now is the time to correct errors in content if they are present. There are not to be corrections for grammar and such. Content is the important point in narration. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation (for written narrations) can and should be addressed at a separate time.

10) If there are more than a few children, you may ask (at the end of a narration) if anyone else has anything further they would like to add.

11) At the first, narration should be oral. Written narrations only come after a child is both developmentally ready to handle all the different facets of composition smoothly, and has also had sufficient experience with oral work.



More to come as we "trial and error" our way through Year One :)

How Many Pages In One Lesson?

Happy New Year, everyone! I wrote this before break. I'll be back to blogging in real time this weekend! We start our second term on Monday :)


We have now finished up our first term, and I've been reading and re-reading some of Miss Mason's writings to evaluate my methods. One area that I have been way off on, has been how many pages we have been reading in one sitting. I know, I know, if I had just followed the Ambleside Online booklist and schedule, I wouldn't have made this mistake. But, I didn't. I have some inexplicable desire to get my hands dirty when it comes to choosing curriculum. It's the same way in cooking; I can never follow a recipe exactly as it's written. I add a little here and take out a little there to make it taste just the way I want. I'm sure I could write an entire post analyzing this personality quirk, but I'll pass by the temptation to do so tonight.

So, I've been reading too much in one sitting. I realized this as I was preparing my exam questions for the end of the term. In the appendix to Volume 3, Miss Mason writes that the children in the lowest grade (Form 1a.) have "thirteen subjects of study, for which about sixteen books are used". She specifies that roughly 40 to 50 pages from each of these books are covered in a term. When you divide 40 or 50 pages up over the course of the term's 12 weeks, that leaves only 3 to 4 pages a week! That is far, far less than what we have been reading for most subjects. My worst offense has been in our missionary biographies. I had intended to study two missionaries this year, switching to the second in the middle of the year. The trouble is that each of the two biographies I had chosen was over 200 pages long! Even reading only one of those books all school year would still be more pages than Miss Mason recommends. Woops. I guess this is why we keep reading... so we can keep learning, right?

I'll be honest, only 40 to 50 pages seems like next to nothing to me. My husband thinks it sounds like hogwash to only read three pages a week in a book, but we are both willing to try it out. We've been continually impressed with Charlotte Mason's methods so far. What reason do we have to doubt her on this point? Our only objection is based on how very different such a schedule is from our own school experiences. That's not really much of a sound argument ;)

This little epiphany, of course, completely derails my plans for the second and third terms. I need to reconsider how quickly we are going through our books. I have to laugh as I write that, because it has taken us the entire first term to get through two thirds of our David Livingstone book! But, apparently, that's too fast. We still have 84 pages left to read. Originally, we were going to finish this book around Week 6 of the second term, but now (with my husband's agreement) we are going to try to finish the book on a truly CM pace. That means we will take the rest of Year One to finish those 84 pages. Doesn't that sound crazy? Two whole terms to read just 84 pages? I'll be doing the same thing with several of our other books.

It is interesting to note that, when you realize how few books you will have in one school year, you begin to feel very choosey about which books you'll use. We're not terribly excited about using the Christian Heroes: Then and Now series for missionary tales if we're only going to read one book a year. It's a decent book, but we might be compelled to find something better if we're going to spend 36 weeks on it, ya know ;) I'm not sure where we're going with the missionary biographies. We had chosen them to replace Trial and Triumph, but the switch to (truly) short readings has us rethinking more than a few things about our booklist and schedule.

I admit, I'm just trusting Charlotte on this one.

No Workbooks Required!

"A sense of beauty in their writing and in the lines they copy should carry them over this stage of their work with pleasure. Not more than ten minutes or a quarter of an hour should be given to the early writing lessons. If they are longer the children get tired and slovenly."

- Charlotte Mason Home Education


We are, admittedly, still in the early stages of handwriting within our little homeschool. I, by no means, profess to be an expert on the topic. I share what we have been doing only as an example of what may be done simply, beautifully, and without a workbook.

Firstly, I'd like to put in a quick word about methodology. When the time comes to introduce letters, strokes are important and there are different strokes for different handwriting styles. Ball-and-stick writing is currently out of favor and continuous stroke methods are preferred due to their faster and easier execution. However, I like ball and stick and think it makes very attractive print. It seems like everyone is talking about Italic, though. Charlotte Mason liked it, too! Personally, I'm not impressed with the look of italic print or cursive. Individual letters look lovely, but words and sentences seem "off" and jagged to me. That's merely an aesthetic issue and nothing more than my opinion. I seriously doubt that it matters much which style you choose for a capable student. Students having difficulty may be a different story, though, requiring simple and friendly instruction like in Handwriting Without Tears - regardless of how lovely it is.

Having little concern about readiness, I just chose what appealed to me the most visually. The whole point of handwriting is that it be readable and attractive, right? A Reason for Handwriting uses a font similar to Zaner Bloser - one of the most common prints taught in schools. When someone comments that I have "kindergarten teacher" print, they mean I print in Zaner Bloser. I think it's exceptionally readable and pleasing. Again, just a preference.



Purchasing a workbook last year clarified the teaching process for me, but now I know the strokes well and handwriting paper is all we need for the CM method. I show my daughter the strokes for one letter at a time on a dry erase board, too. It's small, blank on one side and lined on the other. We begin on the blank side and graduate to the lines when skills are developed enough. I talk her through the letters. For example, I might say, "Start just below the top line - here - good, now up to the top line, around, slowly now, pass the dotted line, down to the bottom, back up to where you started. Good!" We've made a capital O :) She makes the letter five to eight times or so on the dry erase board and that's it! The next day we do the same thing, stressing carefulness and attention to detail until the letters are neat and I'm convinced she is really giving her best work. We move on a few days later, keeping previous letters in review by writing them two or three times. Another perk to the dry erase board - besides fun - is that mistakes or sloppy work can be erased quickly, a CM principle:

"At this stage the chalk and blackboard are better than pen and paper, as it is well that the child should rub out and rub out until his own eye is satisfied with the word or letter he has written."

Once letter formation is down, copywork begins :) Perfect execution and careful attention to detail are still strongly encouraged, and "lessons" remain short. Miss Mason wrote, "I can only offer a few hints on the teaching of writing, though much might be said. First, let the child accomplish something perfectly in every lesson––a stroke, a pothook, a letter. Let the writing lesson be short; it should not last more than five or ten minutes. Ease in writing comes by practice; but that must be secured later. In the meantime, the thing to be avoided is the habit of careless work––humpy 'm's, angular o's." It sounds more severe than it is in practice. Basically, if it's sloppy or careless, we erase it right away to keep the poor example from remaining in front of the child too long. No crossing out with a line. No marking with a red checkmark. It must be completely erased, and quickly too. If a child is truly doing his best, though, and writing "slowly and beautifully" to the best of his ability, that's our goal. He should be encouraged and regular, short practice sessions should be continued.

At times, although copywork should really be from the work of the best authors, we do lessons by making cards for others. I write a few words they'd like to say on a sticky note or scrap piece of paper and the girls copy it onto their card. Gradually, we work up to a longer line, a short note, a letter. For more official lessons, we begin with a Bible verse or a sentence or two from one of our readings and slowly graduate to an excerpt from a book, and then longer poems and passages to keep in notebooks or give away. Always, the handwriting must be their best. They quickly learn that there is no use in trying to cut corners, they will only have to erase the word and write it over again. It pays to write carefully and well the first time.

"Of the further stages, little need be said. Secure that the child begins by making perfect letters and is never allowed to make faulty ones, and the rest he will do for himself..." - C. Mason


Links:

Handwriting Overview (great for comparing styles!)

Another Good Style Comparison

The Great Handwriting Debate (continuous stroke vs. ball-and-stick, my bias may be showing)

Ball-and-stick lowercase print strokes REALLY NEAT SITE!!!

Uppercase print strokes

Traditional cursive lowercase strokes

Traditional cursive uppercase strokes

What is Narration?

What's Narration?

"Narration is the child telling back what they read, hear, see, and let this action of the mind be habitual. The small ones go over in their minds their pictures, their tales, their geography, and other readings. As they do so, they use their own words, they 'tell back' aloud, giving each incident, each point in their own way. If there are several children, they take turns, until the whole is told back." - Charlotte Mason

In the simplest terms, narration is the child "telling back" to his mother the events in a story or a section of a book. The material may have been read aloud together or read by the child independently, but it must only be read once. The child must learn to attend completely the first time. Charlotte Mason recommended that the children begin narrating their lessons at age 6, but she advised mothers to allow a year or two for the child to really become a strong narrator.

Young children often have a difficult time composing their own writing. Somehow the process is just too cumbersome. Not only does the child have to think of what they want to say, they also have to think of how to spell, punctuate, and form the letters. Composition is quite a lot to master all at once. In Charlotte Mason's method, narration is the beginning of composition. Telling comes - more or less - naturally to children. In oral telling, the difficulties of spelling, grammar, handwriting, and the like are left out of the business. All the child needs to focus on is the content of the book or lesson at hand. In narration, ideas are his main concern. The child is learning how to deal with real knowledge firsthand.

When Charlotte tested her students at the end of each term, the tests were in the form of narration - oral for the younger students and then written for students over age 9 or 10 (after overall years of oral practice). The directions prompting narration are similar to what we would think of today as essay questions. Aren't these the questions you always dreaded? They are generally considered to be the hardest kind. Multiple choice questions give you suggestions, true or false give you a 50/50 chance, fill in the blank provide contextual clues - essay leaves you all alone. All you can tell is what you know. In CM's schools, children did not pass or fail, nor were they compared to other students. Grades, as we know them, were not given for narrations. Each child was simply instructed to tell to his best ability. Attention to detail, truthfulness, and completeness were encouraged. The exams at the end of the term were an assessment largely meant to test the teacher's success, not merely the student's.

In our home, we have noticed that when my husband and I enthusiastically "tell" about something we have read, the children are eager to listen. When I am reading through a book with the children, I like to tell Sam about it at dinner. Frequently, one of the children chimes in to add this part or that. There is the beginning of narration.

Example often helps clarify where instruction fails, so here are a few sample narrations from Charlotte's own writings (appendix to Volume 3):

Q. Tell the story of Naaman.

A. (aged 6 3/4):––

"Naaman had something the matter with him, and his master sent a letter to the King of Israel, and the king was very unhappy and did not know what to do because he thought that he wanted to come and fight against him, and he rent his clothes. And he said, 'I can't cure him,' so he sent him to Elisha, and he told him to take a lot of presents and a lot of things with him. And when Naaman came to Elisha's door, Elisha sent Gehazi to tell him to dip himself seven times in the waters of Jordan, and he said to himself, 'I surely thought he would have come out, and I thought a lot of people would come out and make a fuss'; and he went back in a rage. And his servant said to him, 'Why didn't you go?' And he said, 'My rivers are much the best.' So his servants said, 'If he had asked you to do some great thing, wouldst thou have done it?' So he went and dipped himself seven times in the water, and when he came out he was quite all right again. And when he was coming home they saw Gehazi coming, so Naaman told them to stop the horses, and so they stopped, and Gehazi said, 'There are some people come to see me, please give me some money and some cloaks,' and they were very heavy, so Naaman sent some of his men to carry them, and when he came near the house he said to his servants, 'You can go now.' Elisha said, 'Because you have done this you shall have the leprosy that Naaman had.'"



Q. What have you noticed (yourself) about a spider?
C. (aged 7 3/4):––

"We have found out the name of one spider, and often have seen spiders under the microscope––they were all very hairy. We have often noticed a lot of spiders running about the ground––quantities. Last term we saw a spider's web up in the corner of the window with a spider sucking out the juice of a fly; and we have often touched a web to try and make the spider come out, and we never could, because she saw it wasn't a fly, before she came out.

"I saw the claw of a spider under the microscope, with its little teeth; we saw her spinnerets and her great eyes. There were the two big eyes in one row, four little ones in the next row, and two little ones in the next row. We have often found eggs of the spiders; we have some now that we have got in a little box, and we want to hatch them out, so we have put them on the mantelpiece to force them.

"Once we saw a spider on a leaf, and we tried to catch it, but we couldn't; he immediately let himself down on to the ground with a thread.

"We saw the circulation in the leg of another spider under the microscope; it looked like a little line going up and down."



Q. Tell about the North-West Passage. (Book studied, The World at Home.)

E. (aged 7):––

"People in England are very fond of finding things out, and they wanted to find out the North-West Passage. If people wanted to go to the Pacific Ocean, they had to go round Africa, by the Cape of Good Hope, or else round South America by Cape Horn. This was a very long way. They thought they might find out a shorter way by going along the North Coast by America, and they would come out in the Pacific Ocean. They would call this way the North-West Passage. First one man and then another tried to find a way. They found a lot of straits and bays which they called after themselves. The enemy they met which made them turn back was the cold. It was in the frozen zone, and the sea was all ice, and the ice lumps were as big as mountains, and when they came against a ship they crashed it to pieces. Once a man named Captain Franklin tried over and over again to find the North-West Passage, and once he went and never came back again, for he got stuck fast in the ice, and the ice did not break, and he had not much food with him, and what he had was soon eaten up, and he could not get any more, for all the animals in that country had gone away, for it was winter, and he could not wait for the summer, when they would return. A ship went out from England called the Fox to look for him, but all they found was a boat, a Bible, a watch, and a pair of slippers near each other. After looking a lot they found the North-West Passage, but because there is so much ice there the ships can't use it."



For Year One, our planned narrations will cover Bible, history, nature study, missionary biography, and geography. We may require narrations for a few of our literature selections as well, particularly if I think the book is harder to follow than is average.

Hope this post has been a blessing to you :) For more on narration, just click the tab below this post.