These are the things I've been concentrating on more and more. How am I doing?
- God's Word - We are using a devotional during the week. We do look up the day's passage in the Bible and this is a time Alexandra reviews the books of the Bible. We were doing good at memorizing a passage of scripture in December, but haven't been doing very well in January.
- Great Literature - We are currently reading Charlotte's Web. We will finish in a few days and I need to pick another book. (I also won Heidi from The Educational Life!)
- Fine Art - We just finished studying Chagall and got to go to a museum and see some large reproductions of his work. Next, we'll be studying Georgia O'Keefe.
- Beautiful Music - We just finished studying Mozart and read a Living Book about him, Mozart, The Wonder Boy. We also listened to music by him and I even played some of his music! We read, and acted out, 2 different stories of The Magic Flute.
- Real Living History - We are trying to use Living Books for history, like A Story of Us: Making Thirteen Colonies. We also do a lot of hands on activities and I'm wondering how this fits in with CM. It seems to take up a lot of time, but Alexandra really enjoys it. And, I think she retains more from it. But, is it worth the time??? (Any comments?)
- God's Creation - We get lots of contact with birding in our own backyard and through going to the park, just observing nature wherever we go, and through our nature group.
4 comments:
You need to go to the art museum downtown. They have some Georgia O'Keefe paintings. Congrats on winning your book.
Re:Hands On
Charlotte Mason also encouraged having chidren do handwork. Not making useless junk, but something nice.
My own feeling about hands on activities is that they not only reinforce the lesson, but also often teach a child skills they can use in other areas. Book knowledge is great. However, if a child has not been taught how to apply it, how useful is it really? Yes, they do take up a lot of time, but if they accomplish the goal they were intended for then they are worth it.
As you know, we take a unit study approach to a lot of our living books and I have found that the kids retain so much more. Narration isn't only the telling back in word form but also in pictures and projects. Anything that helps a child recall the imporatant facts of something that's been read. Lapbooks are fantastic for this too.
This would be a great submission for the current Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival.
The Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival topics center around CM educational philosophy and the practical application of Miss Mason's works.
Details can be found here: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_2378.html
God Bless.
MomToCherubs
http://www.becksbounty.blogspot.com
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