Charlotte Mason Archives

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Barb — 8 Comments

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival- Nature Study Edition February 2012

Yes! We have a new Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival button! Click over to read about it at Fisher Academy International....she has the code for you to grab and the official announcement of the winning design and CurrClick prize!

Here we are in the middle of winter with its many splendors and wonders. Each season is something to savor…winter is the season that defines all other seasons. We look forward to the greening of spring, to the long days of summer, and to the colorful autumn hours spent readying for another winter. Charlotte Mason understood the value of nature study and I hope this carnival helps you in your family’s outdoor studies.

Thank you to all the participants!

Nature Study

Angie from Petra School starts us off with their family Twig Study (part of the Outdoor Hour Challenge from the month of January). This entry is packed with outdoor goodness…their time outdoors, their study, and then their nature journals. Excellent example of nature study with boys.

Nancy submits her Shakespeare and Starlings entry for you to enjoy. She has put together a very interesting post which ties these two topics together. I invite you to read and see for yourself!

Michelle from The Holistic Homeschooler shares their interesting outdoor nature study related entry: Field Trip-Air Potato Roundup. This is a new to me topic that you will find interesting.

Lanaya from Gore Family News gives us their Nature Study Lately post to read and enjoy. She shares their family’s nature study process…very nicely done!

Sarah from All That is Good has written and submitted her post Thinking Ahead to Nature Study for this edition of the carnival. Loads of information for you to glean from in this entry.

Barb from Harmony Art Mom (that’s me!) submits Nature Study For High School Students – Reflections. This entry shares some thoughts from the Handbook of Nature Study and some practical tips for your family to apply as the years go by.

Patti from School Days Scrapbook treats us to a glimpse into their icy world: Tracks and Trails. I invite you to visit her blog and enjoy her beautiful wintery images.

Martha from Sunrise to Sunset shares their Outdoor Time entry from their Texas nature study. They look like they are going to have an early spring.

Tammy from Aut-2B Home in Carolina has complied their nature study projects for the carnival. Read all about their nature study ideas in her entry, Nature Study in a Ginormous Room.

Leah from Home Grown Babies has put together a photo journal sort of entry as part of this nature study edition of the Charlotte Mason Carnival. I invite you to read her entry, I Love Days Like These.

Makita from Academic Celestia shares their Gall Nature Study with the carnival. She shares their large collection of galls…fascinating topic!

Other Charlotte Mason Related Topics

Tricia and her Middle Girl have started a series of acrylic paint tutorials. Be sure to check out their very first one: Cupcake-Acrylic Paint Tutorial. I love the color selection and the whimsy of this project. We all look forward to the next one.

Cindy from Our Westward Journey shares an Armor of God Object lesson with carnival readers this time around.

Michelle from The Holistic Homeschooler shares her very artistic daughter in her entry, Another Artist From My Home. What a treat!

Jimmie from Jimmie’s Collage has written a thoughtful post and she shares it with you in this edition of the carnival, Homeschooling is Like Exercise. This is a great analogy and I invite you to read the comments as well with some additional ideas to apply.

Leah from Home Grown Babies has put together a living math post for the carnival: Charlotte Mason Maths. She shares some great ideas.

Click for free nature study related printables:

1. Cindy from Our Journey Westward
2. Maureen from Spell Outloud
3. Jimmie from Jimmie’s Collage
4. Lauren from Mama’s Learning Corner
5. Amanda from Hearts and Trees

6. Barb from Handbook of Nature Study

You are welcome to submit any Charlotte Mason blog entry to the next carnival HERE.

Don’t forget the Great Backyard Bird Count on February 17-20, 2012!

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Barb — 6 Comments

Nature Loving in February-It’s For the Birds

“To the nature-lover February is the winter month of special charm. The forests on the snowy hills take on many lovely tints varying from dull to dark blue and from lilac purple to amethyst. The snow is toned with purple shadows and the skies in the morning are dull blue at the horizon and rosy and misty above until the blue of the upper skies is reached. Let us enjoy every day of February whatever the weather and then will our spirit be strong for blustering March.”
Anna Botsford Comstock, The Nature Study Review.

Yes, we really do get snow here in our part of California…..not much and it doesn’t stick around too long but this was the second of our snowstorms of the season and we are expecting a much bigger storm over the upcoming weekend (predicting 4-8 inches). We will get to enjoy some winter nature study and winter walks in our own neighborhood.

For now our focus outdoors is observing birds as part of the Great Backyard Bird Count but now that the counting time has passed we will continue to enjoy our feathered friends.

I already shared our first list of birds spotted on Friday and pretty much our list didn’t change for Sunday and Monday except to add Lesser goldfinches and Canada geese. I love sharing my snow day with the birds.

I think part of the charm of participating in the GBBC is that we get to see what other homeschooling families observe along with their list of common birds. Apparently this is something that has held its charm for over a century. I read this excerpt in the Nature Study Review….copyright 1917. It was titled, “A List of Birds That Easterners Would Like To See”.

“The editor is recipient of the following record from Miss Barbara Marx, eleven years old, and a member of this bird class.”

“I am enclosing the list of birds we have observed. We means the fifth and sixth grades of the Catilleja School of Palo Alto, California. The other morning Miss Hayes, our teacher, divided us up into groups so that we wouldn’t frighten the birds away, and it was then we the owl, cedar waxwing and woodpecker. The only peculiarity we have found worthy of note is that the towhee scratches with both feet at once.

White Crowned Sparrow, Gold Crowned Sparrow, Oregon Robin, California Robin, California Towhee, Willow Goldfinch, Bush-tit, California Jay, Crested Jay, Anna Hummingbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Bluebird, Woodpecker, Barn Owl, Cedar Waxwing”

It warmed my heart when I read that little letter. I realized that watching birds was an activity that children enjoyed a century ago and today we still enjoy taking a few minutes to observe the many birds we have in our own neighborhoods. Let’s hope that in another hundred years children are still taking time to learn about the birds in their world….whatever that world may look like.

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Barb — 12 Comments

Our Winter Tree Study: Nothing Short of a Miracle

We started our birch tree year-long study back in October. (You can read it HERE.) I remember saying to one of the boys that soon the leaves would all be gone and we would be able to see the shape of the tree’s trunk and branches better. Well, time has flown by and here we are standing in the backyard looking at just those very things.

Words that are going in our nature journals: bare, thin, flexible, drooping, catkins, white.

This tree is so different in shape than our other year-long tree studies done with the silver maple and the tulip poplar. The bark on the trunk is different and the seeds are totally different. I anticipate that we are going to learn quite a bit about trees just taking a few minutes each season to observe this tree.

We wanted to take a closer look at the catkins from the tree so we brought a few inside to the table. I bumped one of the catkins and the seeds went everywhere. You can see the partial catkin in the photo above and how the seeds are attached to make it look somewhat like a little dangling cone but it is not really like a cone at all. It is a well organized bunch of winged seeds that are in the shape of a cone. We have seen finches land on the catkins and hang upside down as they nibble their treat.

After much manipulation of lights and magnifying lenses, my son and I were able to capture the seed in an image for you. Truly amazing!

Mr. B sketched the seed for me in my journal and I added color and the captions after we did the research. So much to learn about seeds and how they are part of the life cycle of a tree. I know in my head what seeds are but when you stop to think about the miracle of a complete tree growing from this one small hard to see with the naked eye structure…well, it causes me to sit and be amazed at our wonderful Creator. It is nothing short of a miracle.

It actually reminds me of this quote that I ran across and wrote down to save.

“Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere.”
Blaise Pascal

My Encouragement to You
If you haven’t had a chance to start, begin now during the winter. Charlotte Mason in her writings suggests choosing trees in winter to observe and compare. She says to wait until spring to identify the trees when the leaves and blossoms appear.

“Children should be made early intimate with the trees, too; should pick out half a dozen trees, oak, elm, ash, beech, in their winter nakedness, and take these to be their year-long friends. In the winter, they will observe the light tresses of the birch, the knotted arms of the oak, the sturdy growth of the sycamore. They may wait to learn the names of the trees until the leaves come.”

Charlotte Mason, Vol.1 page 52

There are some simple ideas outlined in Winter Series Challenge #2 or you can just pick a tree and observe, perhaps taking a photo or making a simple journal entry. Don’t hesitate to jump in now!

See this entry for a description. Sample HERE.

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Barb — 7 Comments

Taking Time to Notice

“There’s a poem that says that the person who can best appreciate God is the one who is familiar with the natural world He made.”

Charlotte Mason volume 1, page 61

Besides reading scripture, the natural world gives us many opportunities to see God’s qualities in what he has made for us. There is much to learn when we spend time, large amounts of time, with our eyes wide open to the world around us. Not just this earthly realm but the heavens themselves are there as a testament to His organization and His faithfulness.

My youngest son has grown up living the “nature study” sort of life and at thirteen he is capable of amazing even me with his awareness of the creation around us. I hope that by sharing our experiences with nature that it helps other families to begin to see the benefits and the joy of learning about the world outdoors.

Mr. B spotted many things that I would have missed when we were camping on the Oregon Coast last June. He found snails, hermit crabs, mussels, water snails, and banana slugs. He pointed out the biggest slug I have ever seen and we enjoyed watching him slowing making his way across the trail in front of us. I would have either missed it or avoided it if he hadn’t been along with me on the hike.

I gave him the assignment to find three different kinds of mushrooms or fungus on this trip to identify and draw. He easily found a dozen different kinds and we were able to identify the ones he found most interesting. This meant careful observation at ground level many times….taking packs off and kneeling over to look at the undersides of the mushrooms.

I spend much of my time looking at the colorful beauty in nature, finding a refreshing sense of just what kind of Creator would make such a feast for the eyes. My son has taught me that he finds God’s hand in the sometimes ugly and not so attractive aspects of nature…making them a beauty in my eyes by looking at them from his point of view. The useful and wise ways of God are seen in how he provides an organized web of life around us if we are only observant enough to take the time to truly see it.

Posted on July 19, 2009 by Barb — 9 Comments

Nature Notebooks-Like a Travel Journal

“Nature notebooks, which started with our P.U.S. (Parents Union Schools) have become like travel records and journals for students. They keep notes about all their finds: birds, flowers, fungus, mosses are described and sketched every season in the same way that Gilbert White did. A nature notebook can be kept by anyone anywhere. It can be used to record stars on their course in the heavens, or a fossil of an anemone on the beach at Whitby. These notebooks help to make science come alive and relate to the common man. Science should not be taught merely as a utilitarian means of preparing students for a career!”
Charlotte Mason, volume 6, page 223

I was reading through volume six of Charlotte Mason’s books this week and found this gem of a quote about nature journals. I am in total agreement with her about the nature journal becoming a travel journal for our children as well as for ourselves.

We have traveled with our journals for many years and it is enjoyable to look back at the entries from places far from home with fond memories.

Here are some examples:

Trip to Makaha, Hawaii….homeschooled while we were there for two weeks. Awesome experience for the boys.

Another journal drawing from the Makaha trip.

Yellowstone National Park and a day at the river that we all remember with our journal entries. I can’t explain how taking the time to journal a day is so powerful. It seems to blaze it into your memory so that years later….many years later in this case, we can all remember exactly what we did on that hot summer afternoon. This entry is from my oldest son’s journal.

This journal was done on a trip to Arizona. We had visited the Sonoran Desert Museum outside of Tucson and we saw three different owls that my son recorded in his journal.

Closer to home, this journal entry was done on a family hike to Eagle Lake. I remember that even my husband journaled on this day and it was great to see his experiences. This is my pen and watercolor sketch of the event.

This one I shared this entry not too long ago but it is another great way to document a trip in a nature journal. My son and I journaled on the same page and it is one of my favorite entries in my current journal. I know I will always look back on this page and remember the afternoon that we spent at Curry Village sketching and having a snack. Thanks Mr. B.

One last one from a trip we took a few years ago to the redwoods. It was our first time visiting Redwoods National Park and we made time for several entries while we were there. This particular entry reminds me that these were the falls that the boys climbed up and found their very first banana slug. They made me climb up the waterfall to take a photo of it for them. 🙂

Take your journals with you when you travel. Take time to sketch!

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Barb — 10 Comments

Spring Wildflowers #9: Catch-Up Post

I have been feeling sort of guilty about all the wildflower posts on this blog but after much deliberation, I came to the conclusion that recording things that are important to me is at the heart of why I keep a blog. My goal this spring has been to observe as many of the local wildflowers as I can and try to keep a record of when they started blooming and then identify them as I can with my field guide. This blog is part of my nature journal…a digital version of my paper journal.

In addition to recording my wildflowers on the blog, I have tried to keep current with our Wednesday Flower Study posts and the Outdoor Hour bird challenges. I slipped in a post about our great natural bridge hike last week and I have a backlog of posts to make about our other hikes.

Even though every post doesn’t exactly reference the Handbook of Nature Study, I still feel like I am staying “on topic” and helping to encourage other families to get outdoors and explore their own neighborhood. With the exception of the first photo of me taking photos of flowers, all the other photos are within a 25 minute driving distance from my house.

“It may not be practical for every family, but when mothers understand the good that a measure can do, they will often work miracles to provide it. A twenty minute trip with a picnic lunch can make a day in the country accessible to almost anyone, but why do it just one day? Why not do it lots of days? Or even every nice day?”
Charlotte Mason in Modern English, volume one, page 44

So here are April 14th’s flowers from our regular hiking trail.

Sweet fennel

I have decided that yellow sunflower shaped flowers are really hard to identify. I need to start carrying my book with me on hikes and not relying on my photos to help make an identification.

This is something rather beautiful and we only have seen it one place in all our travels. I can’t find a identification for it but it sort of looks like Purple fritillary…not quite sure.

We think this is a Woodland star.

April 15th’s flowers from Cronan Ranch and the American River Confluence
(These are both new hikes to our family and we ended up going back to both places over the next few days to explore some more.)

Lupine. This is the year of lupine in our area. It is glorious and abundant everywhere you go. In a lot of places it is a mix of lupine and poppies and the blue and gold combination is stunning.

White fairy lanterns

Mustard

Purple dead nettle

April 16th at Cronan Ranch again…

Lupines…right alongside the river. Yellow bush lupine and blue pod lupine.

Baby blue eyes

Back to the American River Confluence on 4/17/09

The plant and flower look like Miner’s lettuce but I have never seen the heart shaped buds before. Anyone know what this is?

We think these are Ground iris. We saw quite a few of them along the slope on the river side of the trail.

I think that is all of the outstanding new wildflowers that we observed and enjoyed over the last week’s hikes. I have a few more to share but I will post about those when I write about each individual hike.

I have developed a huge case of spring allergies. I have not been out for my usual walk in three days and I am getting antsy to break out and enjoy the spring. I am hoping that my allergy medicine kicks in soon and I can get out and explore some more of our local area.

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Barb — 16 Comments

Nature Study with VERY Young Children

I had an email from Dana and she has a one year old. She was asking for some tips on how to get started with nature study with very little ones who are prone to putting things in their mouth….she lives in Tanzania, Africa and is worried about bugs and poisonous plants.

I have been thinking about her situation and decided that it isn’t any different from those of us who live in other parts of the world. Having a young toddler and providing an opportunity for nature study is pretty much the same anywhere. When children are very young, it is only natural that they want to explore in a way that is meaningful to them and sometimes that means putting things in their mouth. Our job as parents is to provide a safe environment for them to explore. Just like you baby-proof your home to ensure your toddler can play and learn in a safe environment, you can baby-proof an outdoor area for your child as well. The space doesn’t need to be large. It could be a blanket on the grass or sand, a patch of grass or weeds that is near where you hang laundry or tend a garden, even a spot on the patio with a few potted plants and natural items to explore.

“As for the baby, when he is put down, he will kick and crawl and grab at the grass, loving every minute of his freedom as he takes in nature in his own way. He should be dressed in something comfortable that can handle a bit of dirt and play.” Charlotte Mason, Volume 1, page 45

Nature study at this age is something you will want to do together to spark interest and to start the process of learning to be a good observer.

“..the mother must not miss this opportunity of being outdoors to train the children to have seeing eyes, hearing ears and seeds of truth deposited into their minds to grow and blossom on their own in the secret chambers of their imaginations.” Charlotte Mason, Volume 1, page 45

What does this mean in a practical way? Our yard has lots of things to explore so many times we would just walk around our own backyard together. There were rocks to turn over and look at what was hiding underneath…..ants and spiders and crickets. There were plants to smell like roses, thyme, and lavender. There were trees to touch and leaves to gather. It is fun to have a few items that they can take on their walks like nets, buckets, pouches, binoculars, or magnifying lenses. We kept our outdoor tools in a crate outside the back door.

We always had a vegetable garden so the little ones would accompany us outside to water, weed, and harvest. I tried to make sure that there were things growing that they liked to eat so they could harvest and eat the veggies right out in the garden….peas and beans were some of their favorites. They almost always had their own “garden” where they were free to dig and explore under my supervision. Most little ones have no fear worms and spiders so it is the perfect time to nurture their love for those sorts of things.

Digging in the dirt is great therapy for children and adults as well. The fragrance of damp soil and fresh earth leave imprints on our minds that last into the winter season. As we would weed, I would point out the plant parts like roots and stem. Even if all you have is a pot or two on your porch or deck, this will provide a great start to learning more about the plant world.

Once you decide you want to venture out of the yard, the stroller is a great way to get the little ones out but still let them be a part of our nature time. You can point things out to get them started but soon they will be looking for clouds and birds on their own. Be flexible. I have one child that would rather push the stroller than sit and ride so I would tell him that he had to keep a hand on the stroller as we walked along at his pace. This kept him from running too far ahead and I could interact with him as interesting things caught our eye. This gave him a little sense of freedom but I could be in close supervision.

Have you ever smelled the sulfur/rotten egg smell of a mud pot? This photo was taken in Lassen National Park and the looks on their faces tells you that it is not a pleasant smelling place….except for maybe Amanda and she has always been a smiley girl no matter what.

From a very early age, we included the little ones along on our family hikes. The baby backpack was our best friend and the boys both loved riding along on dad’s back as we hiked. We trained them to ride in the backpack and then gradually shifted them to walking on their own.

From the age of three, we geared our hikes to allow the littlest ones to hike as much as possible on their own. This meant a slower pace and a shorter distance but it was very enjoyable to see the trail from their eyes and to follow their lead from time to time.

“Adults should realize that the most valuable thing children can learn is what they discover themselves about the world they live in. Once they experience first-hand the wonder of nature, they will want to make nature observation a life-long habit.” Charlotte Mason, Volume 1, page 61

Nature study at an early age is about exposure and a growing awareness of what is surrounding you at all times. Your enthusiasm is so crucial to capturing your child’s interest. Think about what interests you about the outdoors and then come up with a way to involve your children.

Here are some ideas that I have used over the years:
One of our favorite daily activities when the boys were very small was to let them use a small watering can to water our deck plants each morning. We would observe the flowers and play in the water a little but they began to have an appreciate for growing things. Growing marigolds in a pot is something we did a lot when the boys were little.

The boys also have always loved helping to fill the birdfeeders. This would get us outdoors and talking about the different visitors we had that ate the seeds. Scooping seed was a favorite toddler activity as well.

Collecting things to bring home and organize is a great toddler activity. I have one son that always had a pocket full of acorns every time he went outside. We collected them in a coffee can each day and he enjoyed spilling them out on the deck to count and sort through on his own.

Rocks, feathers, sticks, and shells can all be kept on a nature table. Many times these natural items were mixed in with their imaginative play. Block cities had acorn people and Hotwheel cars rode over stick bridges.This was another way to have them enjoy their time outdoors.

Two very dirty little boys having the time of their lives on a hike.

Indoor props could come outdoors to be played with in their dirt cities. I had a tub with a few things like plastic animals, toy cars, spoons, cups, scraps of fabric, and anything else that could serve as accessories to their imaginative outdoor play. They would add in leaves, cones, seeds, and other bits to make pretend villages and cities. On hot days we would include water in our play in the form of a bucket or tub.

Start to look at the outdoors as an extension of your indoor life….a really big play room. Include your little ones along with your outdoor activities. The simple act of taking a daily walk together will provide more than enough fuel to start the nature study engine. Take it slowly and enjoy seeing the world through your little one’s eyes.

Note to readers: All the photos in this entry are of my kids when they were very, very much younger than they are now. This was a great photo scanning project and it brought back so many nature related memories. Don’t waste time…get started with nature study as soon as you can with your little ones because it is a great way to build your family and your relationships.

Use the discount code NATURE5 when you checkout and receive $5 0ff an Ultimate Naturalist membership!

Posted on September 24, 2008 by Barb — 1 Comment

Painting Mental Pictures-Trees: Outdoor Hour Challenge #31

I love oak trees. This oak is standing in a meadow in Yosemite Valley. I know this beautiful oak is not in our backyard but it was just such a perfect little scene of things that I had to capture it for my memory book and share it with you too. Charlotte Mason speaks in her writings about memorizing scenes to recall at a later time. This is one that will stick in my memory for a long time. The autumn light and the yellow-green of the grasses made this a perfect painting in my mind.

“The ability to take a mental picture of the beauties of nature is so fulfilling that it is well worth teaching our children how to do it…..Have the child look thoroughly at some landscape, then ask them to close their eyes, and bring up the image in their minds…..In the beginning the children will need help to get them started. So the mother might show how it’s done by saying, ‘Look at the trees reflected in the water. What do the leaves remind you of?’ until the children notice the main details. She should memorize a couple of mental images and impress her children by closing her eyes and describing it from memory.”
Charlotte Mason, volume one, pages 48-49

“Imagine what a treasure they will find when, years later, they are able to pull out memories etched in full detail of the beautiful scenery from their childhood home!”
Charlotte Mason, volume one, page 47

What a wonderful aspect of our outdoor time with our children! We can seize opportunities to instill in them a love and respect for nature as well as give them the gift of wonderful memories.

“Mental picture painting is a game that children enjoy, although it takes a good bit of concentrated attention and is therefore tiring. It should only be done once in a while. Still it is good to have children memorize some scenic landscape images because, while making the memory requires effort, the habit of looking more closely at detail is learned as an unconscious by-product when children are asked to make detailed mental images every now and then.”
Charlotte Mason, volume one, pages 48-49

Posted on September 2, 2008 by Barb — 6 Comments

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: Good Habits Edition

The carnival has rolled around to my neck of the woods again and I am excited to share some great entries for this edition’s theme: Habit Training.

I thought I would start off the carnival with a few of my favorite quotes from Charlotte Mason on habit training. Enjoy the quotes and then enjoy the rest of the carnival!

“Whether habits are planned and created conscientiously, or allowed to be haphazardly filled in by chance, they are habits all the same. Habit rules ninety-nine percent of everything we do.”
volume one, page 110
“Habits of mind become physical reality on brain tissue and that’s why habit is so powerful. It isn’t all in the mind, it’s physical, too.”
volume one, page 114
“It takes a few weeks of work to build a new habit. Once the habit is in place, it must be guarded diligently to prevent a reversion to the old ways, but keeping watch is not stressful or difficult once the new habit is secure.”
volume one, page 121
“One last word about habit–the point of training children to have good habits is so that they’ll do things without being nagged or scolded. Then the mother isn’t constantly chasing them down with a barrage of commands and reminders. She can leave them alone to thrive in their own way once habit has secured a boundary for them to grow in.”
volume 1, page 134

What is a Habit? How do you get started?Princess Momma shares some great beginning ideas for habit training. If you are just starting out with the idea of habit training in your family, you will be interested in reading her entry. She even includes some ideas for habits that toddlers can work on. Charlotte Mason on Habits
Dawn shares with everyone her entry on Habitry (read her entry to see what she means) I enjoyed reading her thoughts on how focusing on one habit also encompasses others at the same time. Cheerfulness, respectfulness, and kindness seem to all go together. Read about her new habit of early rising too.

The Habit of Habits. Isn’t that a great title? Andrea shares her thoughts on getting in the habit of working on habits. Love it.

The Great Habit of Completing Chores
Erin writes in her entry about the practical ways to work on the habit of instilling good habits. She says, “While chores are the physical outworking of the habit, the underlying fruit is unmistakable. Obedience, responsibility, cheerfulness, diligence, attention, just to name a few.”You will want to be sure to read her entry, Smooth and Easy Days.

Keri has some great advice and some practical examples showing how she involves her whole family in habit training. Her entry will explain their system for chores (and a little incentive): Charlotte Mason Habit Training.

This is the third entry that should inspire some great ideas in the habit of completing chores. Shanna shares her flip cards and a chart for all of us to see. Kid’s Chore Chart

Working on Habits as a Family
Rachael share on her blog how her husband has helped her lay the foundation for the habit of reading aloud together as a family. She shares a list of books they have been able to read because they have stuck with this habit for five years. Don’t miss the last photo in this entry, it will warm your heart. The Habit of Reading Aloud

Rachael also shares a very nice poem about habits that you might like to use for copywork or to just share out loud with your children. Who Am I?

Ann at As They Rise Up shares her thoughts on habits. She realizes that good and bad habits start with her. I admire a woman who is honest in her thinking. Here is her entry on habits, Habits Begin at Home.

Working on habits together must be a common thread in homeschooling families, especially with moms. Elisabeth shares her entry, Forming Habits in Ourselves, on her blog, Treasuring the Moments.

Cindy shares her family’s attempts to make occupying yourself a habit. She shares some great ideas and ways to get started if you are interested in developing this habit in your family too.Habit Training-Occupying Yourself

Amanda from Hearts and Trees share her thoughts on the habit of imagining…yes, imagining. I was interested to read what Charlotte Mason had to say about this unusual habit. Here is Amanda’s entry: The Habit of Imagining
Reaping the Rewards of Good Habits
Sonya from Simply Charlotte Mason, shares an entry titled, Discipline Brings Freedom. I can’t think of a better way to keep motivated in our endeavors to create good habits than the experiences she shares in this entry. She shows how putting down a new “habit rail” brings more freedom to your life.

I have a little different situation since my children are older and therefore have spent a lot more time working on good habits. My post, A Season of Reaping, shares my thoughts as I contemplate what sorts of habits older children need to refine. We will be discussing and making goals together as a family.

Shannon’s children are quite a bit younger than mine and she is already seeing the fruits of habit training. Here is her entry, Habit Training, on her blog Song of My Heart. Also in her entry are her family’s current habit training goals.

What a fantastic carnival and we even had a theme! Please leave a comment and let us know how you liked this carnival and if you would like to continue having a specific theme for each carnival in the future.

This is the last Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival that I will be presiding over. I am passing the torch of responsibility over to Jamie at Rose Cottage. She has graciously offered to take the lead in keeping this carnival going for all of us. I have become stretched too thin over the last months and felt the need to take something off my plate. As much as I love leading this carnival, it was something that I could easily pass on to someone without too much trouble. I want to publicly thank Jamie for her excitement and enthusiasm at handling the carnivals in the future.

We hope that it is a smooth transition but if there are any problems, please feel free to email me anytime if you have a question or concern. harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

The next carnival will be hosted by Sonya at Simply Charlotte Mason. If you would like to submit an entry, wait a few days to see whether there is going to be a theme or not. It will be posted on the carnival website.

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival Submissions

Thank you to everyone who made this edition of the carnival a success. I hope everyone has gained something from reading the entries. I know that I have been inspired to try some new things with my family.

Sincerely,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Posted on June 8, 2008 by Barb — 4 Comments

Why Use the Handbook of Nature Study?

“A mother should read these kinds of books to herself, not just to collect little bits of knowledge to pass on to her children as they come across things she’s read about, but so that she can learn enough to answer their questions and help the children with their observations….Children will love a person who knows the things they want to find out about and such a person may influence a young mind to have a passion for nature that will be retained for life…”
Charlotte Mason, Volume 1 page 64

That is a clear reason that the Handbook of Nature Study should have a solid standing in our science and nature study materials. This book makes it so easy to look up something we observed outdoors and flip to those pages and read a little to ourselves. I know some families enjoy reading the selection together but it is not necessary. The meat of each section is the section for observations. I love to read through those questions and learn how I can better guide my child to their own understanding of the subject.

Our goal:

“And this is exactly what a child should be doing for the first few years. He should be getting familiar with the real things in his own environment.”
Charlotte Mason, Volume 1 page 66

If you need help getting started with the Handbook of Nature Study, please join us for the Outdoor Hour Challenges posted every Friday. Or if you want an example of how our family uses this book, read through our responses to each of the challenges and you will see how easy it is to use once you get the correct idea about what it is for.

So even though you might look at the copyright date of this book and wonder how it could still be relevant today, you have your answer: It helps you to your goal. Your goal of helping your child become more acquainted with nature close to their own home.

Tag: Charlotte Mason

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Why Use the Handbook of Nature Study?

Outdoor Hour Challenges for families since 2008!