Spreading the feast of the Charlotte Mason method of education through weekly podcasts. Join us for short discussions that provide information, examples, and encouragement to the homeschool parents putting CM's ideas into practice in their homes.
This Christmas Day episode is a discussion of Bible reading, a subject found in Charlotte Mason’s programs, but was for the child’s personal Bible reading. Emily, Liz, and Nicole discuss why this is an important habit for our children and how we can encourage our children in their own Bible reading.
Listen Now:
“We neglect the knowledge which cannot come without labor; that we forsake the earnest and devout study of the Bible, the one way of approach to the knowledge of God.
“…the Christianity of the Bible offers infinite scope for development in the beauty of holiness and in the knowledge of our illimitable God….Hence, our business is before all things, to make ourselves acquainted with the text…It is better that we should, in the first place, try our own efforts at interpretation;…orderly study with the occasional use of a sound commentary, is to be recommended…The error that underlies these aids to private devotion…is that their tendency is to magnify ourselves and our occasions, while they create little or no desire for the best knowledge. It is probable that even our lame efforts at reading with understanding are more profitable than the best instruction. Wait upon God as the dry earth waits upon water…But as the friend listens to the voice, pours over the written word of his friend, so the lover of God searches the Bible for the fuller knowledge he craves.” (4/1/82-84)
“Knowledge of God is of the firstborn affinities…to be got at most directly through the Bible. The learner knows only by the independent act of knowing which he performs for himself.” (6/254)
“The habit of hearing, and later, of reading the Bible, is one to establish at an early age.” (3/142)
“But while pressing the importance of habits of prayer and devotional reading, it should be remembered that children are little formalists by nature, and that they should not be encouraged in long readings or long prayers with a notion of any merit in such exercises.” (3/143)
“The habit of regularity in children’s devotions is very important.” (3/142)
For every homeschool teacher, Charlotte Mason’s wisdom on the child’s personality is invaluable. This next installment of the synopsis, points 16-19, covers these two aspects, aspects the teacher has an obligation to understand and instruct their children in.
Listen Now:
Home Education (Volume 1), Part V, Chapter I
Ourselves (Volume 4), Book I, Chapter VI; Book II, Part II
An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education (Volume 6), Chapters VIII & IX
[16] There are two guides to moral and intellectual self management to offer to children, which we may call ‘the way of the will’ and ‘the way of the reason.’
[17] The way of the will : Children should be taught, (a) to distinguish between ‘I want’ and ‘I will.’ (b) That the way to will effectively is to tum our thoughts from that which we desire but do not will. (c) That the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing, entertaining or interesting. (d) That after a little rest in this way, the will returns to its work with new vigour. (This adjunct of the will is familiar to us as diversion, whose office it is to ease us for a time from will effort, that we may ‘ will ‘ again with added power. The use of suggestion as an aid to the will is to be deprecated, as tending to stultify and stereotype character. It would seem that spontaneity is a condition of development, and that human nature needs the discipline of failure as well as of success.)
[18] The way of reason: We teach children, too, not to ‘lean (too confidently) to their own understanding’; because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration (a) of mathematical truth, (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the former case, reason is, practically, an infallible guide, but in the latter, it is not always a safe one; for, whether that idea be right or wrong, reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs.
[19] Therefore, children should be taught, as they become mature enough to understand such teaching, that the chief responsibility which rests on them as persons is the acceptance or rejection of ideas. To help them in this choice we give them principles of conduct, and a wide range of the knowledge fitted to them. These principles should save children from some of the loose thinking and heedless action which cause most of us to live at a lower level than we need.
“…the business of reason is rather to prove for us what we think is right, than to bring us to conclusions which are right in themselves.” (4/64)
“…what the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies. The mind doesn’t direct the will. The mind is actually captive to what the will wants, and the will itself, in turn, is captive to what the heart wants.” (Dr. Ashley Null)
“Logic gives us the very formula of reason, and that which is logically proved is not necessarily right.” (6/144)
“It is madness to let children face a debatable world with only, say, a mathematical preparation. If our business were to train their power of reasoning, such a training would no doubt be of service; but the power is there already, and only wants material to work upon.” (6/147)
“Every mother knows how intensely reasonable a child is and how difficult it is to answer his quite logical and foolishly wrong conclusions. So we need not be deterred from dealing with serious matters with these young neophytes, but only as the occasion occurs; we may not run the risk of boring them with the great questions of life while it is our business to send them forth assured.” (6/150-151)
“Children should know that such things are before them also; that whenever they want to do wrong capital reasons for doing the wrong thing will occur to them. But, happily, when they want to do right no less cogent reasons for right doing will appear.” (6/142)
We are now accepting appointments for the 2021 Calendar year! We would be happy to help you make an individual curriculum plan for your family, troubleshoot some of your daily struggles, or walk you through how to apply Miss Mason’s method in your homeschool.
Our calendar typically fills up quickly through spring/summer, so we encourage you schedule your appointment as soon as possible.
Please visit our Consulting page to reserve your consultation today!
Homeschool parents recognize that there is more to education than academic subjects. Charlotte Mason was careful to ground the teacher’s understanding in the moral responsibility of training children. This episode addresses moral development in the child and how to foster it through authority, habits, and the living ideas children are served in the curriculum.
Listen Now:
School Education (Volume 3), Chapter 12
“…the little fellow writes, in the verses he makes for his grandmother’s birthday; and then, when the verses come to be read, ah! The humiliation of the soul he goes through, and how surely he expects father and grandmother to find him out for a hypocrite. “Why did I write it? She’s not here, and it was not necessary to mention her; I love grandma, it’s true; I reverence her, but still she is not the same. Why did I write it? Why have I lied?” This is the sort of thing there is in children. We recognise it as we read, and remember the dim, childish days when we, too, had an ‘organ of truth’ just so exquisitely delicate; and the recollection should quicken our reverence of the tender consciences of children.” (1/183)
“Facts like this afford a glimpse of the appalling responsibility that lies upon parents. The child comes into the world with a moral faculty, a delicate organ whereby he discerns the flavour of good and evil, and at the same time has a perception of delight in the good––in himself or others,––of loathing and abhorrence of the evil. But, poor little child, he is like a navigator who does not know how to box his compass. He is born to love the good, and to hate the evil, but he has no real knowledge of what is good and what is evil; what intuitions he has, he puts no faith in, but yields himself in simplicity to the steering of others. The wonder that Almighty God can endure so far to leave the very making of an immortal being in the hands of human parents is only matched by the wonder that human parents can accept this divine trust with hardly a thought of its significance.” (1/333)
“‘God does not allow’ us to do thus and thus should be a rarely expressed but often present thought to parents who study the nature of the divine authority where it is most fully revealed, that is, in the Gospels. They see there that authority works by principles and not by rules, and as they themselves are the deputy authorities set over every household, it becomes them to consider the divine method of government.” (3/127)
Our harsh governing always produces revolt. God allows man to make a free choice of obedience, rather than forcing it. The law of God, according to his word, is exceeding broad, it “encompasses us as the air we breathe, only more so, for it reaches to our secret thoughts, which is not a hardship, but a delight.” Parents love and see to the best for their children, and the children learn they are happy when good, and sad when they are not. They must learn that we are all ruled by the law of God, which ‘is another name for the will of God.” (3/128)
“Children play with Moral Questions.––There is no part of education more nice and delicate than this, nor any in which grown-up people are more apt to blunder. Everyone knows how tiresome it is to discuss any nice moral question with children; how they quibble, suggest a hundred ingenious explanations or evasions, fail to be shocked or to admire in the right place––in fact, play with the whole question; or, what is more tiresome still, are severe and righteous overmuch, and ‘deal damnation round’ with much heartiness and goodwill. Sensible parents are often distressed at this want of conscience in the children; but they are not greatly in fault; the mature conscience demands to be backed up by the mature intellect, and the children have neither the one nor the other. Discussions of the kind should be put down; the children should not be encouraged to give their opinions on questions of right and wrong, and little books should not be put into their hands.” (1/336)
“First and infinitely the most important, is the habit of obedience. Indeed, obedience is the whole duty of the child, and for this reason––every other duty of the child is fulfilled as a matter of obedience to his parents. Not only so: obedience is the whole duty of man; obedience to conscience, to law, to Divine direction.” (1/161)
“the training of the child in the habit of strict veracity is … one which requires delicate care and scrupulosity on the part of the mother. … The vice of lying causes: carelessness in ascertaining the truth, carelessness in stating the truth, and a deliberate intention to deceive. That all three are vicious” (1/164)
“These departures from strict veracity are on matters of such slight importance that the mother is apt to let them pass as the ‘children’s chatter’; but, indeed, ever such lapse is damaging to the child’s sense of truth––a blade which easily loses its keenness of edge.” (1/164-65)
“As for reverence, consideration for others, respect for persons and property, I can only urge the importance of a sedulous cultivation of these moral qualities––the distinguishing marks of a refined nature––until they become the daily habits of the child’s life; and the more, because a self assertive, aggressive, self seeking temper is but too characteristic of the times we live in. (1/166)
“Again, let us keep before the children that it is the manner of thoughts we think which matters; and, in the early days, when a child’s face is an open book to his parents, the habit of sweet thoughts must be kept up, and every selfish, resentful, unamiable movement of children’s minds observed in the countenance must be changed before consciousness sets in.” (3/135-36)
“[The child] learns to read in a way that affords him some moral training. There is no stumbling, no hesitation from the first, but bright attention and perfect achievement. His reading lesson is a delight, of which he is deprived when he comes to his lesson in a lazy and dawdling mood. Perfect enunciation and precision are insisted on…” (1/221-22)
“The book should always be deeply interesting, and when the narration is over, there should be a little talk in which moral points are brought out…” (1/233)
“[In Bible lessons] let the teaching, moral and spiritual, reach them without much personal application.” (1/233)
“We cannot live sanely unless we know that other peoples are as we are with a difference.” (6/179)
“Perhaps the main part of a child’s education should be concerned with the great human relationships, relationships of love and service, of authority and obedience, of reverence and pity and neighborly kindness; relationships to kin and friend and neighbor, to ’cause’ and country and king, to the past and the present. History, literature, archaeology, art, languages, whether ancient or modern, travel and tales of travel; all of these are in one way or other the record or expression of persons, and we who are persons are interested in all persons, for we are all one flesh, and we are all of one spirit, and whatever any of us does or suffers is interesting to the rest.” (3/80-81)
To celebrate Black Friday and Cyber Monday, A Delectable Education will be offering a 20% discount on our Teacher Training Videos, including three new videos!
To take advantage of this sale, use the following discount code on the checkout page from Friday, 11/26 through Monday, 11/30 at 11:59 PM EST:
_______________________________________________
2020TTV
_______________________________________________
Also, check out the Black Friday discounts you can receive from these other Charlotte Mason shops:
Afterthoughts Blog – This shop has study guides, audio downloads, Swedish Drill books, event downloads and beginning Phonics lessons. Head to Brandy’s shop to see her Black Friday discounts.
A Humble Place – offers Charlotte Mason Picture Study Aids, a kindergarten curriculum, and seasonal art devotions for homeschooling families. This year’s Black Friday deals will include discounts on Charlotte Mason quote apparel, mugs, totes, and prints as well as picture study resources!
Commonplace Quarterly – CPQ is a beautiful quarterly print magazine, focused on encouraging homeschool moms with an emphasis on the Charlotte Mason method. Includes articles that appeal to both the new and the seasoned homeschooler in every issue. CPQ will be offering 25% off all shop orders from the 27th-29th.
Meaningful Menus – A fun and simple way to enjoy Charlotte Mason morning time subjects as a family. Open and go Volumes include songs and poems covering hymn study, recitation, folk songs, Bible memory work, and Shakespeare. Use code “GIVETHANKS” and get 20% off all digital products. Valid through 12/1/2020.
Nature Study Hacking – Combining Nature Study lessons with Nature Journal prompts these books help beginners learn how to use a nature journal AND study nature regularly through first hand observation. Save 25% off site-wide from Black Friday-Cyber Monday.
Our Journey Westward Shop – Cindy’s shop has some practical Charlotte Mason Homeschooling resources along with a line of Nature Study guides. Cindy’s entire shop (excluding membership) has been marked down 25-50% from Nov.24-30! No need for a coupon code!
Sabbath Mood Homeschool– Nicole’s website includes a full line of living science curriculum, special study guides, and helpful articles, book lists, and more. Head to her site for 20% off of everything from Black Friday through Cyber Monday.
The Peaceful Press – The Peaceful Press- Charlotte Mason inspired curriculum for a joyful homeschool. Save 25% storewide on Black Friday.
Reshelving Alexandria– Empowering homeschoolers with knowledge to make their own book decisions for their family. Black Friday Lifetime Membership sale for current members. Isn’t that an amazing list? Happy shopping!!
