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Cay Gibson
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Lissa wrote somewhere (recently) about giving her oldest dd some of CM's writings to read over. I can't find it now but the idea sent goose bumps up and down my arm.
The idea of sharing CM with my dd this new term was exactly the "thing" I was looking for to make this term exciting and refreshing and new-ish .
It will be a break away from the old rut we found ourselves in before the holidays. To just sit with my dd and make CM's Volume 6 our education gives me an exhilarating feeling. 
Next week the Christmas books will get laid to rest in the plastic, bedspread, zipper-safe bag. I will still plan some seatwork (math) in the morning and she wants to take Spanish and piano. Reading = anytime time of day or night. 
But each afternoon I will brew a pot of tea and sit down to a special teatime to read and discuss CM with my daughter. We will read together and watch Lissa's Lilting House for updates.
Anyone care to join us?
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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Cheryl
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It sounds like a great idea, Cay, but I think my dd's are too young.
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Cheryl
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KC in TX
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Mine are too young too, but will read along with you.
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KC,
wife to Ben (10/94),
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Michaela ('01)
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And, my 2 angels, Rose ('08) and Mark ('09)
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Lissa
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Oh, thank you, Cay! Kate has really been enjoying dipping into the volume called Formation of Character. That's the one where each chapter is in story form, about a different person battling some bad habit and working to replace it with a good one. Kate's interest in the book began when I read the girls the "Inconstant Kitty" chapter (which Karen Andreola reprinted in her CM Companion).
I think the place where I mentioned it was on my little daily learning notes blog. And then I'm walking through Vol. 6 (Philosophy of Ed) on Lilting House.
I look forward to hearing about how your daughter likes CM!
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Lissa
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Cay Gibson
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Good grief! 
I was just telling the ladies at Lit Alive! my plans for this and describing how "I want her (dd) to begin taking ownership of her education. I'm not sure how I'll plan the CM ideas into her education but I'll let her lead the way."
We've been using CHC workbooks for her seatwork. I thought that was all the "structure" she needed or wanted.
But last night she asked me if, when we began our work again, we could pretend we were doing public school. She wants to wake up real early, have Spelling bees and Spelling tests, structure, etc. :) 
My plans versus her plans. 
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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Cay Gibson
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KC and Cheryl, your girls are pretty young. Mine is younger than I "thought" to be introducing her to CM. Oh, we've been "doing" CM and her style education but I've never sat down with my girls and discussed the woman and her writings behind what we do in everyday life. I guess I would have thought closer to 13 or so.
I wish I had thought to do this with my 16 year old when she was ten and I was just discovering CM.  She has turned into a lovely, very smart girl. God has been good to this slightly-delayed-reaction mother.
Now I'm looking at my nine-year-old as prime meat. All this time I've been trying to explain (show her really) why we hs and what is so wonderful about it. I've been denying ourselves a rich ingredient in this recipe. All I had to do was open CM's books with her .
She loves to read. She loves to write. Her future plans are to become a travel writer, an American Girl author, and a Catholic wife and hsing mother. She's quite capable of reading, discussing, and understanding CM.
I'm so excited! To think I almost let this prime opportunity slip right through my fingers.  It isn't like we would have missed out on the important things of home education but it's almost shameful to think I was waiting until the girls were in their twenties before giving them CM to read.
I wouldn't have thought of reading CM with my 9 yr old save Lissa's mention. THank you, Lissa.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
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Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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Leonie
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Mmm - I wonder if this will work with boys?? 
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Leonie in Sydney
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MacBeth
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You know, Libby read Real Learning cover to cover when it came out...possibly because she wrote a passage of it. I think this is great stuff for our daughters (and sons, Leonie ).
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MacBeth in NY
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alicegunther
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Agnes can probably recite Real Learning by now. I kid you not.
She loves it and already talks about homeschooling someday, and I don't think it hurts that she knows just about every child and mother mentioned in the book!
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Brew yourself a cup of tea, and come for a visit!
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marihalojen
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Cay, you know I really thought you were speaking of sharing with your dd16, not your dd9! Awesome! Let us know how it goes.
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Elizabeth
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Cay Gibson wrote:
But last night she asked me if, when we began our work again, we could pretend we were doing public school. She wants to wake up real early, have Spelling bees and Spelling tests, structure, etc. :) |
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There is a huge interest in spelling bees around here lately too. I think it's the influence of the Molly movie.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Cay Gibson
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The older ones have left and the rest of the house is still asleep. I got her up early and she had breakfast and is now dressed.
We are fixing to sit down with a cup of tea and our mentor Charlotte Mason.
I'll let you all know how it goes.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
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Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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Cay Gibson
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Elizabeth wrote:
| There is a huge interest in spelling bees around here lately too. I think it's the influence of the Molly movie. |
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HOw observant, Elizabeth.
I asked Chelsea last night what was behind this interest in duplicating public school. I thought perhaps her school friends had been bending her ear again. She told me that in all the American Girl books she was reading about correct behavior in school. Her older brother got her the Molly DVD for Chrismtas. So you're absolutely right.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
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marihalojen
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Along the lines of a Spelling Bee rabbit trail...
Marianna really enjoyed theAkeela and the Bee movie especially as it emphasized Latin and Greek roots.
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~Jennifer
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Cay Gibson
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Well, my little tete-a-tete with my 9 yr old didn't go as well as I had hoped.  Does it ever?
I was armed and ready with her cup of creamed tea and a biscotti and these books:
* Karen Andreola's "A CM Companion"
* Elizabeth Foss' "Real Learning"
* CM's original "School Education"
* CM's original "A Philosophy of Education"
Because I know pictures still capture her imagination, I flipped through Karen Andreola's book and Elizabeth Foss' book as I explained the beauty of a CM education. Chelsea was well-behaved and attentive, quietly sipping her tea and twirling her biscotti like a baton in her fingertips.
But she just didn't "get it". She wasn't interested with the whys or how-tos.
Our date with Charlotte Mason lasted all of fifteen minutes...tops. I knew when to stop because I wasn't getting the responses or reactions I was looking for. Instead at intervals it was:
"Mom, is this part of our school today?"
"Can I call Adele when we're finished?"
"Can I have a banana?"
I had a revelation as I sat left with the fruits of my plans and Chelsea skipped off to go play with her sister. The philosophy and thesis is totally for us as mothers and teachers. As always, a child learns more from our example than from our lectures.
A nine-yr-old doesn't need the educator (be it me or Charlotte Mason)to hand her a thesis paper. Rather she needs the educator to reach out to her and grasp her hand inside of hers and walk with her...leaving the child to write her own thesis paper. It's a journey, always a journey. If a child picks up the "how-to" books and reads them on her own (as Alice's dd has done) then they become her own philosophy and understanding.
But I don't want to get all philosophical. I'm approaching this from a child's level. For me to share my love of CM with my child I need to create the scenes and join in the act. I can't stand in front of her brandishing book after book. It has to be tangible, real, heart-felt. It has to be an interlocking of minds.
So my plans have changed for our tete-a-tete today. I'm not going to talk to her about the philosophy behind CM, I'm going to present CM as I would with our artist/author/composure studies. We will move our little tea party to the sofa versus the table (she was sick last night so this will make for a nice, cosy time with Mom). Today I am going to show her Penny Gardner's book, just flipping through it and see how she responds...focusing on the pictures if we have to. Then I will read part of Andreola's "Pocketful of Pinecones". Perhaps "seeing" the education of these two young children will help her to "see" the method.
There are other books we have read or will read during our CM teatime. These are books that I have found reach out to the child (versus the parent) and show them the style education we are embracing within our homes. I've got a partial list but I think it's on the computer the girls are on right now. Perhaps you can help me with completing the list:
* Understood Betsy
* Little Men
* The Year of Miss Agnes
Btw, Chelsea's little plan to do school like the public schools on our first day back lasted all of...<drum roll, please>...one day. The very next morning she said, "Let's not play that anymore."
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
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Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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Courtney
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Chelsea and Candace sound so much alike! I can just hear Candace asking me the same questions (Are we done yet....Does this count as school?). Thanks for sharing this, Cay!
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Courtney in Texas
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marihalojen
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Other books that might be along similar lines of showing a CM education in a home setting that I can think of are
Jack and Jill in particular the last chapters wherein the Mother keeps all her children home, including the eldest boy who should have gone off to college for a year long experiment involving much reading of great books, discussions over handwork and time spent outside.
Eight Cousins is also a year long experiment in home education with more details than Jack and Jill, but the later is one I have always read in January! Rose in Bloom is the sequel, Rose is older though and I seem to remember more philanthropy (sp?) than schooling!
Weslandia is not CM per say but it is still one of my favorite books for home education inspiration! I've always wanted to rabbit trail this book there are so many ways to go with it, weaving (baskets and clothing) ink and writing, Tom Sawyer and the whitewashed fence, extracting oils/juices from plants, sundials and math systems based on 8 (flower petals, that is) strategic sports...I could stay busy for an entire summer!
I'll keep thinking...
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The Mari Hal-O-Jen
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Cay Gibson
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Jennifer,
You're a jewel.
I have a little diary style book on Louisa May Alcott entitled Louisa May Alcott: Her Girlhood Diary by Cary Ryan. I see at the link that it is no longer available, but there are used copies.
The reviews are not good but perhaps it can be used as an image into what a CM educational-lifestyle looks like to a child.
I'm thinking Louisa May Alcott is the author we should be reading to get a good idea of CM's philosophy.
The one thing that troubles me is that Alcott's father had the same vision but he was not what society would consider productive. He had grand ideas but it was the mother who worked and scraped for the family's daily bread.
They say the book is confusing. I'm getting confused...
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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cathhomeschool
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Cay Gibson wrote:
I knew when to stop because I wasn't getting the responses or reactions I was looking for. Instead at intervals it was:
"Mom, is this part of our school today?"
"Can I call Adele when we're finished?"
"Can I have a banana?"
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Cay, you had me rolling on the floor here! I get that reaction from my boys all the time. I sigh wistfully when I read threads like this one and There's Alice...then there's me. So that's what it's like to have girls... Until you posted I had no idea that boys and girls could be so similar!
Seriously, though, I think you hit the nail right on the head. It has to be more tangible, more *real* (boy, that word is popping up left and right lately!). My boys will never go for a lesson on CM. We didn't even make it a quarter of the way through Pocketful of Pinecones. But no matter what the topic, we never get far when I do most of the talking and they have to sit still listening!
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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Cay Gibson
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One of the members at Literature Alive! had a great idea. She wrote:
"I had originally planned on doing a Charlotte Mason class in high school. That way I can call it *Early
Childhood Education* and count it as an elective."
Don't you just it. 
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Cay Gibson
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Sharing CM with our Daughters
