tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73301663163054410922024-03-13T11:32:21.965-07:00Living Charlotte Mason in CaliforniaNaomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.comBlogger301125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-12900935269524062832021-02-03T15:03:00.002-08:002021-02-03T15:03:12.059-08:00WE MOVED! Follow me to my new blog location where you can read my new posts - LivingCMinCA.comNaomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-64949912261148553462020-06-12T06:00:00.000-07:002020-06-12T06:00:05.062-07:00Revival of LearningIf you're getting this post, yes, it's been a while! The reality is that I've had a lot of things to say, but it's a challenge to put my thoughts on paper. I over-think my posts and never finish what I start writing. And truly there are so many amazing voices out there in the CM world nowadays! It's not like it was when I started this blog so long ago. This will be my last post here, but not the Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-89600130762214747692020-05-23T17:56:00.000-07:002020-05-23T17:56:05.737-07:00The Ideal Nature Group
Social media has captured the hearts and minds of mamas, especially when it comes to nature study. Who doesn't want to have friend groups frolicking in the outdoors with children exploring, learning together while mamas talk and share their days together? It really is a lovely and idealistic image that has trended big time, particularly in SoCal. So much so that I keep hearing from those Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-84914721709892379962019-10-20T01:10:00.000-07:002020-01-01T23:15:02.726-08:00Last Week to Register for the SoCalCM Conference
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars,
O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
~Psalm 84:3
This conference is now completed. To purchase the audio bundle for $15, head on over to our Conference page here.
Our conference last year was so well received we decided to have Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-54382792140435218392018-11-15T01:32:00.001-08:002019-03-16T01:11:53.144-07:00CM Tribalism
Sisyphus by Titian, 1549
A couple of years ago I heard Dick Keyes speak at a CMI conference I spoke at out here in California. He had two wonderful talks, one on imagination and one on heroes. At the end of one of his talks, he touched on the topic of Christian Tribalism - a term I'd never heard, but a phenomena I was familiar with.
He said that in order to cope with the reality of the Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-40722087729097304572018-10-17T02:14:00.001-07:002018-10-17T12:42:56.280-07:00SocalCM and Upcoming Conferences
We've created a new FB group SocalCM for any "CMers" who live in Southern California. There are many things particular to us - like the Burgess books aren't talking about our birds! So we created this space to connect and contemplate together about many and sundry such things.
Before you hop over to join the group, please be aware this group is not a place to sell products or Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-20195120413425074592018-10-17T01:20:00.000-07:002018-10-17T01:20:03.102-07:00Mind to Mind - an Old Commonplace PageI came back tonight to take a peek at my sorely neglected blog and I found this old page sitting unpublished with the title "Mind to Mind." We're calling it "keeping" and "commonplace" these days (wow that makes me sound old!) but I thought I'd share it with you now. Here's what Charlotte Mason said about "Mind to Mind" in Volume 6:
Diet for the body is abundantly considered, but no one pauses Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-79544064864743063702018-01-11T01:47:00.001-08:002018-01-12T02:07:57.305-08:00Beauty, Truth, and a Gothic Trio
My 10th grade daughter entered into Gothic reads this year with Jeckyl and Hyde and Frankenstein, followed by The Deadliest Monster which I have on order as I write this. I decided to read the the first two, the former because it is so talked about - Tim Keller references it in his book Reason For God - and the latter out of morbid curiosity. I mentioned my readings to a friend and she Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-43063833163588321172017-07-11T14:52:00.003-07:002017-07-12T00:34:43.290-07:00The Delightfully Casual Element of Nature Study - In Memoriam
Did you know that after Charlotte Mason's death in 1923 there was a tribute written by her students and colleagues? In Memoriam. Brandy at Afterthoughts has just made it available to us all in book form with a beautiful cover by local CM mom/artist/graphic designer, Alissa Clark. She also designed the beautiful new AmblesideOnline logo some of you saw at the Heart of AO conference last Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-40215385628433977812016-12-31T01:05:00.000-08:002016-12-31T12:55:51.158-08:00Bandits in our Backyard
A couple years ago we were hiking up by Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary and learned about Flores Peak (pictured above) where the bandit, Juan Flores, wanted for the murder of LA Sheriff James Barton made his daring escape by leaping over its precipice in 1857.
After some digging around I found a book by Hubert H. Bancroft titled, Popular Tribunals Vol. 1, that gave some account Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-21470543253862593422016-09-08T01:35:00.001-07:002016-09-08T01:35:58.631-07:00Who wants to read Norms & Nobility with Karen Glass?
What is Classical Education? Is Charlotte Mason Classical? We're all wondering the same thing! Well here's your chance to delve into Norms & Nobility, a "reappraisal of classical education" with Karen Glass, author of Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition and dive into this discussion yourself. You'll find the discussion happening here on the AmblesideOnline Forum.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-62233288388580518762016-04-11T01:30:00.000-07:002016-04-11T15:55:05.823-07:00Reverence for Life
While we are getting our kids outdoors to experience God's glorious creation, let's remember that, though we've been given dominion over creation (Gen 1:26), we are also called to be good stewards (Gen 2:15). Charlotte Mason never intended nature study to be a careless ramble. In fact, she expected mothers to teach their kids reverence for life:
Is it advisable, then, to teach the childrenNaomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-43007919733616750372016-03-31T01:55:00.005-07:002016-11-29T22:37:39.642-08:00Education is a Discipline: The Discipline of Life Part 4In Part 1 we looked at discipline (discipling) as a chief function of parenting.
In Part 2 we looked at mechanical obedience and habits in the early years.
In Part 3 we looked at how authority behaves.
Next we'll look at the nature of the child as we transition from the more "mechanical" end of obedience in the younger years to a more "reasoned" obedience requiring conscious Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-30151378402306591052016-03-22T01:24:00.001-07:002016-03-22T01:27:07.299-07:00The Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins - Nature Study
Cindy Rollins has been running a podcast called The Mason Jar over at the Circe Institute Podcast focusing on Charlotte Mason's methods and if you don't know Cindy, you're going to love her. She is down-to-earth, genuine, humble, knowledgeable about CM, and has practical experience from her years of homeschooling her many children.
She has interviewed many of the AmblesideOnline Advisory Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-69294845921013842762016-03-21T03:20:00.001-07:002016-11-30T00:30:39.325-08:00Education is a Discipline: The Discipline of Life Part 3
In Part 1 we looked at discipline (discipling) as a chief function of parenting.
In Part 2 we looked at mechanical vs. reasonable obedience and habits in the early years.
Next we are going to look at how authority behaves. Consider your own parenting style as you read through this section.
Charlotte Mason makes a distinction between two forms of government - Autocracy and AuthorityNaomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-13980550718333546682016-03-08T02:18:00.001-08:002016-11-30T00:19:51.942-08:00Education is a Discipline: The Discipline of Life Part 2
In Part 1, we discussed discipline (discipling) as a chief function of parenting.
Next we're going to look at the topic of obedience and habits in the early years. In Vol. 3, on p.18 Charlotte Mason makes the distinction between 'mechanical' and 'reasonable' obedience. She describes mechanical obedience as one that is automatic; habitual, and reasonable obedience, as one that is Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-50964390924233272842016-03-06T04:14:00.001-08:002016-11-29T22:25:28.565-08:00Education is a Discipline: The Discipline of Life Part 1
I often find that when the topic of discipline comes up in a Charlotte Mason context, the conversation typically turns to habit training and the importance of good habits. While I agree that habit training is substantial and worthy of our focus, I do believe we benefit more by viewing it within the context of a greater whole. It is my goal in this series of posts to bring that greater Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-24009985255573083532016-02-21T01:15:00.001-08:002016-02-21T01:15:21.557-08:00Deep in the Heart of AO Conference Registration
Registration for the upcoming AmblesideOnline Conference May 19-21, 2016 at Lakeview Camp and Retreat Center in Waxahachie, Texas is now open! Register by May 10th for the Early Bird discount.
Deep in the Heart of AO is a uniquely AmblesideOnline event focusing specifically on Charlotte Mason's ideas and methods and implementing them successfully with the AO curriculum. The Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-68030178946417737292015-11-06T01:36:00.001-08:002015-11-06T01:36:36.324-08:00AmblesideOnline's 2016 Conference - Save the Date!
Save the Date!
Deep in the Heart of AO, AmblesideOnline's 2016 Conference, will be at the Lakeview Camp and Retreat Center in Waxahatchie, TX from Thursday, May 19 through Saturday, May 21.
Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-91755655700351733032015-11-06T00:21:00.000-08:002015-11-06T00:32:00.890-08:00Nature Study Talk from Northwest CM Educators Conference 2015Thanks to Kathy Wickward, Lisa Kaufman, Christine Wood, and all the other wonderful ladies over at Northwest CM Educators and CM West who invited me to speak on Charlotte Mason Nature Study in Seattle earlier this year and recorded the session so we can share it with all of you!
The audio is sketchy for the first couple of minutes and improves, there is also a brief Q&A that is hard to hear Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-87631911481204524802015-09-28T14:07:00.000-07:002015-09-28T14:07:23.260-07:00Northwest Charlotte Mason Educators Conference 2015We just returned from the Northwest Charlotte Mason Educators Conference last night and I wanted to share some pictures here. I know not everyone is able to attend a conference and that was the case for me for years. This was the first year I have been able to attend any conference for many years of homeschooling.
View of Puget Sound from Dash Point
Shells of a mature and juvenile clam - Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-56635336133092512452015-09-15T12:29:00.000-07:002015-09-15T15:54:28.898-07:00A Nature Study Guide by W.S. FurneauxIn a previous post, inspired by the sheer spot-on-ness of what was written in W.S. Furneaux's A Nature Study Guide which I had just happily acquired, I made an outline of it hoping you could employ its truths. It's a rare old book mentioned by Charlotte Mason in her programmes to be used in Special Studies and for reference.
Well, now, thanks to AmblesideOnline, more Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-6266711147616652122015-08-31T00:30:00.002-07:002015-08-31T00:30:48.790-07:00Scheduling Again
This is my messy morning schedule I scribbled out while I was at the beach Thursday. Cindy Rollins' talk at the AO At Home Conference in Indiana this summer about her precious moments with the kids in the mornings re-inspired me to look at my scheduling again. We're starting school Wednesday this week and spreading the first week over one and a half weeks so we're not rushed with the holiday andNaomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-66982410644194174972015-08-30T02:35:00.000-07:002015-08-30T02:35:06.988-07:00Corot Picture Study
After re-watching the Eve Anderson DVD on Picture Study I decided to make individual cardstock prints for each of my kids this year. It cost me less than $15 for all of these beautiful 8.5 x 5.5 prints. I used to pass one full size print around and then put it up for a month. I think this will be much more personal and gives them a chance to have their own.
I also think it's one Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330166316305441092.post-72170258923551198682015-08-16T21:47:00.000-07:002015-08-17T01:19:05.986-07:00The flip side of habit training
Our youngest son is now four and as I revisit Charlotte Mason's ideas on habit training, or maybe some collectively gathered ideas on training and educating, I've come to realize the importance of the flip side of habit training - the side that maybe we don't consider often enough.
I think for the most part, we think of habit training along the lines of our homeschooling pursuits. Things Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04725083231063968124noreply@blogger.com7