Charlotte Mason Curriculums

[TheRosySeven]

So, a friend of mine randomly handed me a Charlotte Mason Book after telling her about some of the struggles I've had with my 8 yo son. We were big CC'ers and mostly did lots of rote memorization of facts and he HATED it. So now, we've kind of been at a stand-still as far as curriculums go. We've been sticking with our R&S stuff but nothing too in depth.

 

I never thought I would go the Charlotte Mason route. Not because I never liked it but because I just never felt *sold* on it I presume. Anyway, the book is knocking my socks off!!

 

Anyone else do more of a Charlotte Mason approach? What curriculums do you use? Or what aligns best with her approaches? 

 

Thanks in advance!!!

 

 

[Desert Strawberry]

I do the extras-picture study, artist/art study, nature study, etc. I find that the majority of WTM overlaps with CM enough that I don't need CM specific materials. I'm not big on curricula anyway. I would rather DIY.

 

Copy work, handwriting, narrations, literature we just wing it. History, math, science, we use story-based materials. If there is something specific we need to work on, I will find the resource that works but for the child's needs. 

[TheRosySeven]

Whats WTM?

[TheAutumnOak]

Whats WTM?

It's Well Trained Mind...Susan Wise Bauer's book...

 

I am using my phone and can't link to anything so hopefully others will chime in...

[HS Mom in NC]

CM is more an approach than a curriculum.  For the short version (as opposed to her series) you may want to read a couple of these books and see if it resonates with you.

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_15?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=charlotte%20mason%20education&sprefix=charlotte+mason%2Caps%2C332

 

If you like any of the above, then you may find this useful:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Days-Creating-Discovery-Journals/dp/1576360733/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402454546&sr=1-1&keywords=wild+days+creating+discovery+journals

[simplemom]

This video may be a helpful video to watch...I'm a Charlotte Mason/unschooler mix. I started out wanting to follow AO strictly, then quickly lightened up and wanted to do MFW. Then I wanted to do SCM. After doing bits and pieces each of those Charlotte Mason style curricula, I have discovered that I don't like to be told "read pages 1-4 of x book today, then do x activity. I use all three as a loose guide, but do my own thing as far as what to do and when. I do try to keep the basics of CM such as short lessons with the child giving full attention to the lesson the entire time, the child doing their best work, spread the feast of fine arts and grand ideas before the child and let the child make their own connections, etc....

 

[Heidi]

So, a friend of mine randomly handed me a Charlotte Mason Book after telling her about some of the struggles I've had with my 8 yo son. We were big CC'ers and mostly did lots of rote memorization of facts and he HATED it. So now, we've kind of been at a stand-still as far as curriculums go. We've been sticking with our R&S stuff but nothing too in depth.

 

I never thought I would go the Charlotte Mason route. Not because I never liked it but because I just never felt *sold* on it I presume. Anyway, the book is knocking my socks off!!

 

Anyone else do more of a Charlotte Mason approach? What curriculums do you use? Or what aligns best with her approaches?

 

Thanks in advance!!!

Curious what book you read that knocked your socks off!?

[mom@shiloh]

Curious what book you read that knocked your socks off!?

 

 

I'm curious too.

 

I think there are several curriculums that claim to be patterned after CM principles.  

 

Simply Charlotte Mason

Ambleside On-line

Heart of Dakota

My Father's World

 

are the first ones that come to my mind.  I'm sure there are more.  But, as a pp said, it's really more of a method than a set curriculum.

[Hunter]

I'm using Ambleside Online right now, but CM doesn't knock my socks off. I tend to gravitate towards vintage and pre-Y2K resources because they are cheaper and more efficient for me to use. Books were smaller and no one had a printer. Priorities were different.

 

CM was a product of her time. She really wasn't THAT different from her contemporaries. I mix CM with Ella Frances Lynch, Montessori, Waldorf, Charles McMurry, and some back-to-basics later educators like Samuel Blumenfeld and Ruth Beechick and the Amish. Train Up a Child about Amish education is a must read. 

http://books.google.com/books?id=1MSzboiBfrkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=train+up+a+child&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hkeYU4rAAq_MsQTckYHYBw&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=train%20up%20a%20child&f=false

 

My plans for this year

 

Ambleside Online. Used below grade level when necessary.

http://www.amblesideonline.org/curriculum.shtml#years

 

 

How to Tutor

http://www.amazon.com/How-To-Tutor-Samuel-Blumenfeld/dp/0941995011/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402489083&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+tutor

The Three R's

http://www.amazon.com/The-Three-Rs-Ruth-Beechick/dp/0880620749/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402489136&sr=8-1&keywords=the+three+r

You Can Teach Your Child

http://www.amazon.com/You-Teach-Your-Child-Successfully/dp/0940319047/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402489295&sr=8-2&keywords=beechick

 

 

Ray's Arithmetic

The Beechick parent teacher guide is ESSENTIAL in my opinion. And also the above Beechick books and How to Tutor.

http://www.amazon.com/Rays-Arithmetic-Series-Volume-Set/dp/0880620501/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402489186&sr=8-2&keywords=ray%27s+arithmetic

 

Saxon Math for High School. Older editions if possible. No calculator. Just the answer keys. No solution manuals or DVDs. Used below grade level when necessary; slow and steady finishes the marathon.

 

Some of the free resources in the Crisis Plan for Language Arts thread

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/508287-a-crisis-plan-for-language-arts-lots-and-lots-of-free-links/

[TheRosySeven]

The book is The Charlotte Mason Companion. I'm not reading Charlottes actual writings. I knew that CM was simply just an approach to education but I was curious as to what CM'ers use as far as curriculums go. Thanks for all the advice. I think I will check out some of them. 

[Walking-Iris]

I tend to gravitate towards a CM/classical a la WTM mix.

 

Simply Charlotte mason has some good stuff. http://simplycharlottemason.com/

[Susie in MS]

I'm curious too.

 

I think there are several curriculums that claim to be patterned after CM principles.  

 

Simply Charlotte Mason

Ambleside On-line

Heart of Dakota

My Father's World

 

are the first ones that come to my mind.  I'm sure there are more.  But, as a pp said, it's really more of a method than a set curriculum.

 Another program is Christian Kids Explore ______ (there is Earth and Space, Biology, etc). In this program there is a short lesson to be read by the teacher once per week. But then the student is supposed to use living books to cover the material more thoroughly during the week. Then at the end of the week there is a hands on experiment or activity. So here you have a combo of CM and hands on. 

 

Charlotte Mason Help is another choice. It is much like Ambleside but uses more modern books.

 

Thanks to the person who posted the vid. I love Sonya's meek and gentle spirit! And I love that she doesn't make anyone feel as though their chosen method is inferior. 

[Farrar]

In addition to the things like Simply Charlotte Mason mentioned above, I would argue that there's a lot of CM in Brave Writer, especially the way she approaches narration, copywork and dictation.  There's also a lot in there that's not CMish like freewriting.  But if someone wanted to read a much more modern update of the CM approach to those classical basics for writing, I think Brave Writer does it well.

 

I agree with others that CM is more of an overall approach and that you can choose different curricula to be your spine but implement them in a CM way.  For example, you could choose a science curriculum to be your core, but supplement or focus on the living books about science.

 

I'm not a "real" CM'er so take this with a grain of salt, but I've found there's a lot of adherence to old books in the CM community.  Not all of them are great classics.  Some of them are just...  old.  And some of them are old and not that great and full of errors and racist attitudes.  So just choose carefully.  CM believed in using living books, I would argue that means you can feel free to choose the best old and the best newer books as well that fit her vision of well-written stories for children that bring subjects alive.

 

Oh, and my favorite of the old fashioned sort of CM style books is definitely Grammarland, which was a very fun book to use when we did it.

[aelgraham]

I would describe my approach as Charlotte Mason/Classical. I use CM methods but with more memorization (esp. in grammar) than most 'strict' CM'ers might use. I also include Latin and Logic and use SWB's grammar program.

 

I also use SWB's Writing with Ease, applied to the history and literature selections we are using throughout the year. I absolutely love this approach and its foundation is narration, copywork, and dictation which are all CM methods.

 

My absolute favorite sources for CM curriculum are Simply Charlotte Mason and Beautiful Feet Books. 

 

In my experience, it can be overwhelming to apply all of CM's methods at once. It's been gradual for me. Perhaps focus on history using living books and narration to start. I struggled with the nature and art studies because I tried to make the experience too perfect and planned. It's much simpler than I made it in my mind.

 

For art, focus on an artist, get some nice books of his/her art and have the student study them (short periods, a minute or so and then build) and read a bio of the artist. 

 

Here is a great article by SWB on why there is no real conflict between CM and Classical:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/charlotte-mason-education/

 

 

 

 

[pehp]

I take a pretty Charlotte Mason-ed approach to our days, but I do it myself without adhering to a 'curriculum'.  My favorite site for assistance has been Charlotte Mason Help.  AO has some nice recommendations.  I like to incorporate great books into our days, and I am not wedded to using only old books. For me narration and living book are the crux of it all at this age, so those are important to us. 

 

I think CM was pretty classical, really, in many ways.  

[TheRosySeven]

Yes, I had read that CM is considered a "classical" approach to education.

 

I'm realizing that a lot of items I already have fit pretty well with CM. I use R&S for grammar where the lessons are pretty short and sweet. SWB Writing with Ease for writing, Beautiful Feet for Geography (which I'm looking at their history program too because we love the geography!) I would say the only item we have that is "off" is R&S math. But I like them memorizing the facts at this age when it comes to math. So, I guess you could say we take a CM/Classical approach as well. 

 

 

[TheRosySeven]

I think, if anything I need to pick up some of the books. I don't really have much great literature for the kids that they can read through themselves right now. Mostly stuff I can read aloud to them and then I ask them questions about the story or have them tell me what happened in the story.

[Critterfixer]

Out of curiosity, what particular aspects of CM are resonating with you?

[rimk3]

I also lean towards a mix of classical/CM.  Simply Charlotte Mason's Free Curriculum Guide was very helpful for me as jumping off point.  I like their book lists.  I also use their Habits Study, Laying Down the Rails.  

 

We are really enjoying English Lessons Through Literature.  It does have memory work.  It is a very gentle, but effective approach to LA.  I also agree that Brave Writer feels CMish to me as well.  We use some BW and really enjoy those parts of our week.

 

I just stated reading When Children Love to Learn if you want another book recommendatiion.   :001_smile:

[pehp]

Yes! I really like When Children Love to Learn. I love the blend of inspiring AND practical.  Nancy Kelly's blog at Sage Parnassus is helpful. 

[kiwik]

Whats WTM?

Well you are on the WTM forums now.

[Guest Shakespeared]

I love Charlotte Mason's approach to Shakespeare.  While children are in the younger grades, her advice is that they read Shakespeare's plays as stories.  Then when they are older, they read the plays with more familiarity and are encouraged to see the plays, or put them on themselves.  I run a Shakespeare workshop for middle school and high school-age kids and find that, without being taught to fear Shakespeare, they aren't afraid of it, and end up understanding a great deal.  I would like to add to Charlotte's approach:  First, the children read the stories, then shortened versions of the texts, and then in high school, read the play in its entirety as well as watch a film or, best of all, live production.  There's something magical about speaking Shakespeare's language, so whenever possible have the kids read the lines aloud.  It honestly does something in the brain, causing some type of cerebral explosion; the sounds and words and the depth of meaning almost accelerate the brain's capacity.  Having the middle step of being exposed to the shorter, more condensed version, the plays are more accessible, and therefore, more enjoyable.  My two cents.  

[Mandy in TN]

Ambleside Online

Simply Charlotte Mason

Tanglewood Education is no longer being updated, but the information there is good.

 

WinterPromise , Heart of Dakota , and My Father's World are CM-inspired.

 

Many, literature-based products can be adapted for use in a CM, homeschool setting. Look at booklists at Sonlight, TOG, Beautiful Feet, etc. You don't need to purchase the product. Just look at the booklists for ideas.

 

For a short description of CM, I like this one.

 

FWIW- CM pretty much knocks my socks off as well. :)

Mandy

[craftyerin]

We are moving from a unit study approach in PK and K to a more purely CM approach for 1st.  We're planning to use Ambleside Online, with some substations for history.  

[Mandy in TN]

I love Charlotte Mason's approach to Shakespeare.  While children are in the younger grades, her advice is that they read Shakespeare's plays as stories.  Then when they are older, they read the plays with more familiarity and are encouraged to see the plays, or put them on themselves.  I run a Shakespeare workshop for middle school and high school-age kids and find that, without being taught to fear Shakespeare, they aren't afraid of it, and end up understanding a great deal.  I would like to add to Charlotte's approach:  First, the children read the stories, then shortened versions of the texts, and then in high school, read the play in its entirety as well as watch a film or, best of all, live production.  There's something magical about speaking Shakespeare's language, so whenever possible have the kids read the lines aloud.  It honestly does something in the brain, causing some type of cerebral explosion; the sounds and words and the depth of meaning almost accelerate the brain's capacity.  Having the middle step of being exposed to the shorter, more condensed version, the plays are more accessible, and therefore, more enjoyable.  My two cents.  

 

My son is 11yo, and just finished fifth grade. Last summer, we read A Midsummer Night's Dream. This past year we read Macbeth, Twelfth Night, and Julius Caesar. DS reads an act from the modernized portion of No Fear Shakespeare. Then, we listen to the original act on fully dramatized audio while following along with the original Shakespeare portion of No Fear Shakespeare.

 

With Midsummer Night's Dream, we went to see it at Shakespeare in the Park after we finished reading it. I remember acting this out with finger puppets when we did the children's version, so I didn't figure he needed the visual before reading in order to keep track of the characters. The actor who played Nick Bottom was outstanding in his comedic timing. My son was doubled over laughing at him. There were fairies who crawled around in the audience. It was a hoot.

 

With Macbeth and Julius Caesar, we watched movie versions after we finished the plays. The story lines are pretty straightforward. With Twelfth Night, he watched She's the Man and then the 1996 version of Twelfth Night before reading the story. I thought maybe he needed a comfortable impression of the characters before reading the play. 

 

I do think that Doodle will be well prepared to analyze Shakespeare by high school. The language will not be a problem and the characters and plots will feel familiar.

Mandy