Six years ago I complied a talk with a friend so that we could share our understanding of Charlotte Mason's philosophy of seeing the person. I took a look at this again today and made a few adjustments as I see it now that I have grown children. I also added some insight for my understanding of the mother.
Seeing your Child as a person through the years of learning...mother included!
Enjoy!
As I reflect for a publication about the years past and the years to come, I remembered a help I made with a friend for highschool homeschoolers. I shared this locally and fairly wide. But it didn't have a permanent place. So now it does. HERE. Most people want to make sure their child can be ready for college if they choose to go after highschool. I have included a photo of the my third child who recently finished college. He was homeschooled through highschool.
This is fairly focused on Illinois students, but I am sure there are as many helps for other states and the children who have been homeschooled in them!
I'm wondering still over here.
Although I tend to write my wonderings on paper with a pen. And when finished I close the lovely leather bound journal and tuck it under my large pile of books. No one reads my thoughts, my wonderings there. I go back and smile at what I wrote years later.
Is anyone reading blogs anymore? I'm reading more printed books than ever. I suspect you are too?
I've gotten some littles in my life again. That would mean grandchildren if you were wondering. I see the joy in how he finds the marbles I hide in the planters for him. The eyes sparkling when I read a book. How things have changed in that I can read over FaceTime! What a difference one generation can make!
Will the generation behind me read blogs? Will they even read books? I find the squeeze of time harder than ever. How did I have time to write and read when I had six young children? Now that I have less children learning at home, I do feel like I am reading more books for myself. But where is my time going? Is it the older persons who still need my time? My emotional energy? (why are there so many questions and so little answers in my writing today?)
How do you find time to squeeze in the care for older parents and grandchildren? Maybe it was easier when they all lived within walking distance of your home. Hint?
As the older parents pass, I wonder about the grief. The joy of littles balanced with the grief of loss. The grief of change. The lump in your throat when they move out. You smile. Then you hide in your closet and cry. I want the time to stop. I want the time to hurry. What a mix of emotions.
We have always been blessed with great neighbors (is that just a matter of opinion?). The older persons who bring us good thoughts of times past. They teach us new skills that we might have learned when we were younger had we lived in the country. I learn. They try to help us understand what time was like. Before I was here, others were wondering before me. They looked forward. They also looked back. I keep wondering.
so I'm writing. a little bit here.
I'm writing a lot on paper. I'm finding my older voice. I'm using different voices when I read aloud to a little one. I'm talking to those who have passed on. I'm listening more to the past. I will keep questioning. I will keep walking. I wonder why.
As the years roll by, I see that I post less and less. How interesting that as my children were young I had to much time on my hands in which to write, to ponder, to talk....
Now that we have four graduated and two more in the wings still learning deep into their education, I find that I have less time!
This past month I had the joy of watching our fourth child finish her education at home. She went forward to the junior college during her senior year of school and excelled. It is so exciting to see a child move from shared learning to self learning and thrive. As she went through her highschool years she wanted to consider nursing as a passion. So during her Senior year of highschool she pursued a Certified Nursing Assistant degree at the local junior college.
Some of the things I noticed that were beneficial about going to the junior college while still in highschool include: navigating new teachers, self time management both to get to school, dialogue with students that were different ages than herself (this community college had many back to school students who had been doing many adult things!), social economic diversity, self awareness.
What were some things I wondered (not worried) about?
Does a 16/17 year old have the capacity to be on a college campus? Will she/he be able to manage her time schedule so that she balances life and school? Will he/she meet the expectations of her teachers after having a mother teacher who is often willing to bend the time tables? Have I been firm enough in my expectations over the years that it won't be a shock for him/her? How can I best help without controlling and managing life during college? Can I make a soft enough place for him/her to land if he/she needs to fall after failing at something? Am I making a welcome still for him/her in this home after our formal schooling days together are over?
What kinds of thoughts have you had about a child finishing their formal learning years in your home?
See photos from previous years here at this short video!
Follow to this link for registration
This year our theme is THE PARABLES. Did you know that Charlotte Mason herself wrote poetry on the parables of Jesus? We will be focusing more on the writings and time period of Charlotte Mason this year as the parables come to life for us! As this calendar year was the 100th anniversary of Charlotte Mason's death, you can expect us to celebrate big!
Each day a morning session for adults is offered while school aged children have their own session. Afternoons are full of occupations. Organized handicrafts, boating, hiking the 200 plus acres, swimming in pool or lake, playing games, resting, music, picture study, brush drawing to just name a few of the things that keep us interacting as families together. Evenings are for book discussions, teen time, bonfires and sky watching.
Conference fee includes 12 buffet style family meals eaten out of doors.
This year one of our speakers will be the Reverend Tobias A. Karlowicz SSC, PhD. Rev. Karlowicz is the Canon Theologian of the Diocese of Quincy and assisting priest at St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church in Peoria, Illinois, where he assists with teaching and pastoral care.
In addition to his pastoral ministry, Fr Karlowicz has taught as an adjunct professor at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Liturgics and in Anglican Church History. He is the author of The Sacramental Vision of Edward Bouverie Pusey, has published in Ecclesiology, and has contributed articles to the Nashotah House blog, The Chapter. His ongoing academic research concerns the theological response to societal and intellectual changes in 19th c. England. Within the Anglican Church in North America, Fr Karlowicz has served on the writing and revisions committees of To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism and on the Theological Task Force on Holy Orders. In addition, he is Cubmaster of a local Cub Scout pack. His wife Becky works for the OSF Healthcare System in Peoria and serves on the board of the Anglican Church Camp of the Midwest.
To help us understand Mason and her time even more Reverend Karlowicz' presentation to parents during camp will be Anglican Theology during the life of Charlotte Mason: Themes and Influences.
Registration for the Charlotte Mason Family Camp opens on March 15! Join other families who embrace the Charlotte Mason philosophy for five days and four nights at MennoHaven campground in Tiskilwa, Illinois.
This unique camp gives you ample opportunity to nourish friendships with other families, spend time with your own family, be outside in Gods wonderful nature, and rest away from your regular daily duties.
Each day begins with an opportunity for prayer. Morning sessions for moms and dads as well as presentations for kids and nature walks fill the first half of the day. The lake and pool are open daily for splashing with your children. Afternoon occupations include options for handicrafts, science learning, and much more. All meals are provided. Days end with bonfires, teen games, star gazing and more.
Won’t you join us on the prairie? Enjoy this video about our upcoming camp for 2021 with photos from last year!
I've been plodding along reading the six volume series by Charlotte Mason for the past 15 years. My husband thought it was a good investment for me to read Charlotte Mason herself when we first began our homeschooling journey. I found the books difficult to wade though initially. The language was archaic to me. I didn't understand her references to French phrases or know the educational philosophers she referenced. I valued her understanding of the person and how well rounded her suggestions for homeschooling were. I wanted to read, I really did. But I needed some support.
Enter a reading group. A group that was in real life. One that would read the volumes with me. There was some trepedation on their part too...so we first read books by other people who gave their opinion about Mason. And it was a great introduction into the first layer of understanding.
About 8 years ago we began reading the volumes as a group. We read Volume 1 and then Volume 6. And four years ago we began in earnest going through the six volumes-one a year. This year we are reading through Volume 4-Ourselves.
I made up a list of the references she mentions. Sometimes Mason used just a character in a book as a reference without naming the book. Sometimes she mentions a title. Sometimes just a line or phrase from a poem. For those of us who had a basic education, we might have never read poetry on a regular basis. We might have a very slim history of British literature from before 1897. That is me for sure! So I found it took me a lot of time to read alongside a dictionary. (There was not always google translate in the early 2000's!) Many times I was unable to find the characters or books she was referencing. But today! We have access to so much. You can find many google books available.
I read the six volumes with an online group for the first time in a quick two years starting in 2016. This trip through all six volumes gave me a much better overview. During this time I began making notes and lists of the books she referenced. I completed many of these lists when I did a second read through of all six books completed in 2019. I am currently in a third read through of all six books with an online group. I am still learning and gleaning!
In 2017, I visited the Lake District and Ambleside for the first time to see for myself what she had experienced when she was writing and lecturing. It was so fascinating! I hope you can visit one day too!
Here I am checking out the lichen that grows on Charlotte Masons grave.
Here is the list of books referenced in Volume 4 Ourselves book 2. Enjoy! I hope you add some of these to your current reading list!
I've been sharing with friends that I had gotten into a happy state of letting the kids make their own breakfasts. They had boundaries of choices-healthy choices. But I found that as we went through the day people were either hungry very early in the day (9:30-10) or found that they had forgotten completely to make their breakfast! So I'm mixing it up!
I have been a strong advocate for a high protein, low sugar, moderate balanced fat breakfast from the beginning. My husband is happy with some left over veggies and scrambled eggs for breakfast, but the kids were not going for that as much....
This was what I needed: good amount of protein, low sugar, balanced fat, tasty, easy to cook, ability to make ahead during meal prep the night before, cooks for an hour or less, and EVERYONE must like it! Is this too much to ask?
So this month I have chosen to find breakfasts that I can make the night before. All the prep can be done and all that is left is the heating or baking in the morning. I like to exercise and pray a bit before the day, so I wanted something that I could pop in the oven before I head out for a walk...or something that takes just a little heat attention. I wanted the breakfasts to be ready by 7am so we could begin school by 7:30.
Does this sound like something that you want too?
Here are the recipes:
Spinach white bean quesadillas
Here are the recipes that we tried and the ways they were able to help us get up and get going and stay going until lunch! Hope they help you too!
(Should I share like this for our lunches and dinner too? I have had a few requests for meal planning help. It can be quite the decision fatigue to make a menu over and over!)
See my stories on IG for photos.
Our local learning community has been working our way slowing through the Scouting Guidelines. We've had lots of ah-ha moments!
This term we worked toward the Surverying Guidelines.
You can help yourself here to the adaptations we made for modern understanding!
