This week...
I am determined to stay with my blog(s). My apologies for the fact that I haven't really posted much; I take comfort in the fact that there probably aren't too many folks who are reading this particular blog (yet!) and thus are not injured precariously by my tendency to NOT post!
I am hoping to stay on top of my posting for the fact that as we are such Classical, Charlotte Mason fans, I have decided to start a Charlotte Mason/Classical homeschool Co-Op. Well, I have not determined if it will be co-op or if I will just offer "tutor"ing or rather, "mentor"ing. I do feel so strongly about this style of learning that I would want to ensure that the manner of learning for all these bumkins would be entirely in this form, as opposed to fluff, frou-frou, or twaddle being taught. I hope that I do not sound like a snob. I truly am not...as a matter of fact, I'm as hill-billy as they come! However, I do so value my children's education, their time, my time and the other Homeschool parents' time as well, that to do anything less than the Best while in my classes would feel sacrilege to the cause of classical learning. Hmmmm, I do sound like a snob. Well, so be it. My apologies. But this just shows how amazing this style of learning is! Yes, it is old-fashioned but the best education stems from the old methods. Modern Education is not based on Education at all; purely socialization and facts...Dry, boring, crusty and hard to swallow, let alone enjoy, facts. After trying Charlotte Mason or Classical or the wonderful merger of both styles and seeing the response in your children...You will never want to settle with your childrens' education with anything less!
If you don't know the where to start with the no-frills, challenging yet fun, Charlotte Mason Classical style Education then I strongly advise checking out my heroes at http://amblesideonline; I go to them for guidance, book lists, exam questions, Socratic questions and inspiration. The other excellent resources that I use immeasurably are http://heritage-history.com, http://mainlesson.com (or Baldwin) or http://gutenberg.org ; these websites are jammed full of books which are heavily laden with History written as biographical stories giving character to the people and events that make up our past instead of just nameless faces and meaningless dates. Or providing grown up Literature from Shakespeare or even Dante, written for children but keeping the essence of the plays, poetry or stories so that it is still inspiring and yet understandable and entertaining. They are not an explanation of what Shakespeare was writing, not a breakdown of what he is trying to say. It is what Shakespeare wrote but written by some of his most adoring fans for the hearts and heads of little ones who might not otherwise understand...I mean, who understands Shakespeare?! Only those who grow to love it! And study it! And live it. And breathe it. But these were written in a time when the Lexicon of the standard child was mountains greater to the standard 10th Grade vocabulary of the general populace of today. Books rewritten for today's child makes the reading "easy" or "difficult" but there is no vast array of words implanting themselves into the mind. Just the same typical ones that we would be likely to use in everyday conversations...Literature uses words as art, expounding instead of just expanding. Soaring instead of just flying. Blithely instead of just happily. How will these children ever really know the beauty of words when those words never make it into their books and hence never into their minds. The typical modern vocabulary is is not going to give that desire to read more. According to Wikipedia - which by the way, is not my source for all things true, unbiased or factual - but according to them (emphasis mine):" In first grade, an advantaged student (i.e. a literate student) learns about twice as many words as a disadvantaged student. Generally, this gap does not tighten. This translates into a wide range of vocabulary size by age five or six, at which time an English-speaking child will have learned about 1500 words." There it is. I was blessed with an educated father. His vocabulary was large thus mine tended to be a bit more evolved than those of most of the people I knew; However, I was never interested in increasing my education beyond that required of me by my Public School and so hit my pinnacle of speech at, I would guess, approximately 18 years old. I maintained this average well through my adult years. And then... I became a homeschooling mom! I began learning right alongside my boys; reading the same books, studying the same regions, memorizing the same speeches and sonnets. And it was just this last year when I realized that in speaking with others - in conversation or the likes that - I would seek for the exact words that might solidify what EXACTLY I was trying to say, I could search my mind for a word and find one! And not just any general term but one specific to our topic at hand. And now I seem to have words at the ready! On the tip of my tongue, ready to be put to work and ready to prove my opinion or support my belief. Ready to tell an embellished story or ready to quote a great Orator. I love it! And you will too...I promise!
I am determined to stay with my blog(s). My apologies for the fact that I haven't really posted much; I take comfort in the fact that there probably aren't too many folks who are reading this particular blog (yet!) and thus are not injured precariously by my tendency to NOT post!
I am hoping to stay on top of my posting for the fact that as we are such Classical, Charlotte Mason fans, I have decided to start a Charlotte Mason/Classical homeschool Co-Op. Well, I have not determined if it will be co-op or if I will just offer "tutor"ing or rather, "mentor"ing. I do feel so strongly about this style of learning that I would want to ensure that the manner of learning for all these bumkins would be entirely in this form, as opposed to fluff, frou-frou, or twaddle being taught. I hope that I do not sound like a snob. I truly am not...as a matter of fact, I'm as hill-billy as they come! However, I do so value my children's education, their time, my time and the other Homeschool parents' time as well, that to do anything less than the Best while in my classes would feel sacrilege to the cause of classical learning. Hmmmm, I do sound like a snob. Well, so be it. My apologies. But this just shows how amazing this style of learning is! Yes, it is old-fashioned but the best education stems from the old methods. Modern Education is not based on Education at all; purely socialization and facts...Dry, boring, crusty and hard to swallow, let alone enjoy, facts. After trying Charlotte Mason or Classical or the wonderful merger of both styles and seeing the response in your children...You will never want to settle with your childrens' education with anything less!
If you don't know the where to start with the no-frills, challenging yet fun, Charlotte Mason Classical style Education then I strongly advise checking out my heroes at http://amblesideonline; I go to them for guidance, book lists, exam questions, Socratic questions and inspiration. The other excellent resources that I use immeasurably are http://heritage-history.com, http://mainlesson.com (or Baldwin) or http://gutenberg.org ; these websites are jammed full of books which are heavily laden with History written as biographical stories giving character to the people and events that make up our past instead of just nameless faces and meaningless dates. Or providing grown up Literature from Shakespeare or even Dante, written for children but keeping the essence of the plays, poetry or stories so that it is still inspiring and yet understandable and entertaining. They are not an explanation of what Shakespeare was writing, not a breakdown of what he is trying to say. It is what Shakespeare wrote but written by some of his most adoring fans for the hearts and heads of little ones who might not otherwise understand...I mean, who understands Shakespeare?! Only those who grow to love it! And study it! And live it. And breathe it. But these were written in a time when the Lexicon of the standard child was mountains greater to the standard 10th Grade vocabulary of the general populace of today. Books rewritten for today's child makes the reading "easy" or "difficult" but there is no vast array of words implanting themselves into the mind. Just the same typical ones that we would be likely to use in everyday conversations...Literature uses words as art, expounding instead of just expanding. Soaring instead of just flying. Blithely instead of just happily. How will these children ever really know the beauty of words when those words never make it into their books and hence never into their minds. The typical modern vocabulary is is not going to give that desire to read more. According to Wikipedia - which by the way, is not my source for all things true, unbiased or factual - but according to them (emphasis mine):" In first grade, an advantaged student (i.e. a literate student) learns about twice as many words as a disadvantaged student. Generally, this gap does not tighten. This translates into a wide range of vocabulary size by age five or six, at which time an English-speaking child will have learned about 1500 words." There it is. I was blessed with an educated father. His vocabulary was large thus mine tended to be a bit more evolved than those of most of the people I knew; However, I was never interested in increasing my education beyond that required of me by my Public School and so hit my pinnacle of speech at, I would guess, approximately 18 years old. I maintained this average well through my adult years. And then... I became a homeschooling mom! I began learning right alongside my boys; reading the same books, studying the same regions, memorizing the same speeches and sonnets. And it was just this last year when I realized that in speaking with others - in conversation or the likes that - I would seek for the exact words that might solidify what EXACTLY I was trying to say, I could search my mind for a word and find one! And not just any general term but one specific to our topic at hand. And now I seem to have words at the ready! On the tip of my tongue, ready to be put to work and ready to prove my opinion or support my belief. Ready to tell an embellished story or ready to quote a great Orator. I love it! And you will too...I promise!
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