Teaching letters and their sounds

Charlotte Mason suggests that you teach children their letters as soon as they can talk, about two years old. Well, Little Pink Girl could talk really well by the time she was two, and I was so excited to teach her. I had all sorts of ideas about how to introduce letters.

My original plan combined Montessori and Mason techniques. I was going to use sandpaper letters to introduce the letters so she could trace them with her finger, as well as using her three-step process (association, recognition, remembering). I was also going to make some foam letters that she could just play with between lessons, and I was going to use Mason’s letter game (having them find the letters on a page in a book) that she describes in Home Education. We’d read books that were related to the letter we were learning, and we’d make crafts and do all sorts of things. I figured that we’d focus on one letter per week, and have them learned by spring.

I made some foam letters for Little Pink Girl, but she tore them up almost as soon as I handed them to her. I didn’t dare give her the sandpaper letters. I decided to wait until she was older and just use them to teach her how to write in a couple of years.

I found that I didn’t need them to teach letter recognition. While we were reading, I would point letters out to her. I would also tell her the sounds. I basically used Montessori’s three-step process—association, recognition and remembering. Originally, I tried focusing on one letter a week, and just talking about it when we read books. But after the first week I found I didn’t have to wait that long. She was learning a letter a day.

After she was able to remember a letter without fail, I would ask her to find all the A’s on a page, or all the B’s, or whatever letter we were working on. After she found them all (often with help), I would ask her what sound it made. She’s not even two and a half, and she already knows all the letters and their sounds.

This process complimented Little Pink Girl’s learning style. She hears things, remembers them and repeats them. Before she was two she would say words like chemistry, dividend, vertex and bonjour. Language and learning things by hearing them seems to be her strength.

I was amazed at how easy it was to teach her letters. We did it all while we were reading stories!

Book Review: Charlotte Mason Companion

A kind friend who had homeschooled her children gave me a stupendous book. Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning, by Karen Andreola, is a book that I’d heard of, but I don’t think I would have read it if it hadn’t been given to me. I’d read two of Charlotte Mason’s books (Home Education and School Education) and didn’t think I’d find anything new or interesting in someone’s rehash of her philosophy.

But I was wrong. This book was great! It wasn’t a rehash at all. Andreola wrote about how she had implemented Mason’s philosophy, what they had gained from it and how it had affected their homeschool, as well as adding her own thoughts and personal insights.

I’d read this book after teaching Little Pink Girl her letters using a combination of Mason and Montessori. But I was fascinated to read that Andreola had done a very similar thing. At that point I knew we must be kindred spirits.

Although Andreola is not of the same faith I am, I find that she believes many of the same things I do. In her chapter on Greek Myth, she talks about how the Greeks lived the truths they knew, and so God gave them more. All good and truth comes from God, and they seemed to have a lot, especially at first. She explains that they did originally believe in one God who had created everything. And she believes that children can benefit from the truth that they did have. Does this sound familiar?

I also love her thoughts on narration. I, too, have thought that when a child narrates back to you what they have read, that they have to make it their own. They have to integrate it into their thinking, and therefore they really learn.

I wasn’t so sure about the chapter on hero worship. I’ll have to think on that one.

Reading her chapters on nature study convinced me that we can use it for science for kindergarten through 4^th grade. I didn’t realize what you could do with nature study. You can use star gazing, rock collecting and zoo trips! I also believe that when children form “relations” with things around them, and they are used to watching certain phenomena in nature, that they will make connections when studying out of a textbook that are amazing. The stuff in the book will come alive in their minds.

Andreola also gives lots of ideas for books to read and activities to complete. She also has some good suggestions for picture study.

Do you use Charlotte Mason’s ideas in your homeschool? Why?

Week 7: Book review

I really did finish this book quite a long time ago, but I haven't had a chance to write up the post for it. Little Pink Girl is getting to the age where she needs lots of entertaining, but she doesn't have any siblings to do that. So it's all me. Even when we arrange play dates, I still have to come along. But it's still a lot of fun.

For this book review I read School Education by Charlotte Mason. I was curious about her ideas for setting up a curriculum, so that was then next book I read. It was fantastic! And I gained a greater understanding of her philosophy.

Some highlights include:

• The chapters on authority. I loved how she explained where authority comes from and what it means for parents and children. She also explains how we can't rely on man's reason as the ultimate authority. It was a fascinating chapter.
• The explanation of masterly inactivity. We guide our children and provide opportunities for them, but we don't oversee everything they do, nag at them, hover over them, etc.
• Why children should be schooled at home until they are older. The home and family are the best schools for life and society. 
• Mason's declaration that "education is the science of relations." We should be helping children develop relations with everything around them. Their relationship with God is the foundation of their education. Then their relationships with people, past and present, is next most important and forms the greatest part of their education, and I think that is because people are God's greatest work and glory and should be ours, too. History, literature, art and science all help children connect with people. Experiential education and being part of the community is another part of connecting with people. Then, a child's relations with nature, his body and "material" comes next. I think that all those things help us connect with God, too, if we teach it properly.
• The family unit helps a child understand the world he lives in. For example, the head of the home helps a child understand his relationship with God.
• Teaching our children to take care of and develop their bodies is very important so that they are prepared to do whatever work God asks of them. I'd add, the same goes for our minds and emotional states.
• Use books that inspire ideas, not that summarize information and facts.
• Children need to be taught to act, not to be acted upon in education.

Book review: Charlotte Mason's Home Education

While many people pinpoint the start modern homeschooling movement in the 1960s and 70s, Christians call Charlotte Mason the founder of the modern homeschooling movement. She wrote Home Education, which describes education for kids from birth to age 9, in 1886. I'd say it was definitely a monumental work in education.

In fact, I can see a lot of current educational principles in her books. My favorite part is how she emphasizes children need to be outside in nature--and not just in a city park. She thinks they should be out in the country. She cites many health reasons for this, as well as the peace that a connection with nature produces. (Is this sounding familiar?) She encourages parents to get their kids out every day, if possible, for as long as possible.

I have decided that I want to incorporate her ideas in teaching first grade biology and second grade earth science and  astronomy. Kids should experience the world to learn about it. Mason describes games to help a kid pay attention and learn about their environment, like "sightseeing" and mental "picture painting." She suggests that kids keep a nature journal of things they see every day. She suggests bird watching and listening; choosing a few trees to keep track of all year; picking, pressing, mounting, researching and labeling flowers and plants; and having animals and insects, like ants or fish, in the house or schoolroom that the kids can observe.

Mason says that when kids become familiar with nature at a young age by experiencing it hands-on, it makes it easier for them to learn science principles when they are older and have developed the capacity to reason. I can relate to that. I used to garden all the time when I was a kid, and when I was a teenager I worked at a greenhouse. Not only did high school biology make more sense to me, but my college soil, ecology and botany classes were a breeze. I remember surprising my teachers more than once. But it all made sense to me because I was familiar with it.

I also like what Mason says about training children in habits--for the most part. I do believe that a child's will is strong when they want something. She thinks it is weak, so the child must be trained in habits until their will is strong. But establishing good habits at a young age is essential for success in work, school and relationships later in life.

Mason notes that if a child has good habits, they can direct themselves and don't have to be directed or nagged by you all the time. She suggests you work on one habit at a time, and be friendly and encouraging. You have to use tact and be consistent and persistent. She says to use natural consequences as much as possible to teach the child.

This is a fantastic read for any homeschool mom.