Charlotte Mason wrote the following…
“…for the best thought the world possesses is stored in books. …our concern is abundant provision and orderly serving!”
Yes, the best thought, the greatest ideas, and a world of information are all captured in books. They are the very best textbook. They are the very best lesson book. We have at our fingertips a bounty to serve to our children. So, in your choices, give abundant provision! Consistently serve them the very best books.
But, where do we begin? How do we serve up whole books?? Let me give you some very easy tips that will get you started…
How to Serve Up Whole Books!
–> Set up a book basket. Actually, we have A LOT of book baskets in our home. I set the example by carrying a basket or a tote loaded with my goodies most everywhere that we go. As soon as we check out our books that we are reading from the library, we pile them into the family book basket. This keeps them all in one place and helps to save on those overdue fines! Plus, it is easier for everyone to find books when they can snatch that moment to devour one!
–> Have a time daily (meal, bedtime, school time) to read as a family. This is central to using whole books as your texts of study. It takes time to read through a generous curriculum of real books. This time is so worth it though! Set aside a time that works for you and make it your tradition as well as your time to learn together.
–> Plan well in advance! We live in an area that is filled with home educators. This is great for the activities and resources available for home educators…but the down side is that you must be careful or the books that you want to use for teaching your children will all be checked out. I have found that a couple things help me. I always make a list of books that I would like to read. I determine which books are available at the library and which books can be given to the children as gifts from Harold and I or the grandparents. I really like to buy the good books for our home library, but this takes a good bit of foresight if we are to have them when we need them. I plan well in advance. Then, we are ready to roll.
–> Use books for their purpose. Some books are for read alouds…some for pictures… some for finding out facts. It is OK for you to use a book for pictures or a few facts and NOT read it! A great example is that I do use some of the books by Isaac Asimov. Surprised?? NO! I do not read them. They just have great pictures! We use them to show the children the pictures of what we read about in other resources that are more reliable. The pictures in his books are the very best, but the information is the most proposterous out there. We have other books that we use just like this. It gives us the very best resources at our fingertips. Use the resources your own way! Let them be your tools. Enjoy them for what they are good for!
–> Use other resources to supplement. I remember the day that I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to read ALL of the books that I wanted to my children. This may sound simple and obvious, but I was afraid of developing “holes” in my children’s education—anybody relate? I wanted to teach my children everything! I have learned now that we will never read all of the books I would love to read with my children…nor will we be able to cover everything that I want to cover in these short years. I have decided to use my time to select the greatest books for our reading time and to use resources to supplement the studies so that we would not miss too many of the great stories. We have found wonderful audiotapes and videos that we can enjoy together. We also love to visit historical sites and ask REAL people all about what we are interested in. These resources contribute to our lifestyle of learning while helping me to teach all that we can in these short years.
Ready to dig into a great book? Why not grab a great book and dig in today?
Happy Reading!
Recommended Resources…
See Cindy’s Audio, Read to Me, Mommy!
Half Off This Week! Our SUPER Half Off Sale!!!
http://www.cindyrushton.com/HalfOffSale.htmlOR Grab the WHOLE SET!
See Cindy’s NEW Language Arts the Easy Way Set
Half Off This Week! Our SUPER Half Off Sale!!
http://www.cindyrushton.com/HalfOffSale.html
Hey Cindy,
I love this way of homeschooling. I’m promoting your books and Charlotte Mason books on my blog because it has changed the way we do things drastically in our homeschooling approach. I love your books, they are jam packed full of wisdom. I wish I could sit down for a day with you and pick your brain lol. Over tea of course.
Thanks for all you do.
Blessings to you and your family.
Kim Wilson
Cindy;
I bought LATEW years and years ago, my copy of Language Arts the Easy Way has a 1998 copyright –
I was under the impression (possibly mistaken) that you were revising it – Is that correct? Do you have a revised version available now?
YSIC;
Trish Bevill
Hi Trish!
Yes! I am revising Language Arts the Easy Way. I have been working on it as I can snag time for a year. 🙂 Yep! A MAJOR REVISION!
Right now, I am plugging away on some things that have been plaguing me from my big list of things to do–I have a journal that I keep all of my personal, business, spiritual, financial, relational goals and things to do listed in. My goal is to have LAEW completely revamped and ready to share by the end of the year. It will actually celebrate its 10th Birthday with a re-release of the new version! 😀 😀 😀
We will have a special offer for those who have previously owned the book. You will definitely want the updated version because it is soooo much more detailed, plus it takes you all the way through high school. I am very, very proud of it.
We already have a way to EARN the new LAEW. 🙂 Last year, I taught a Talk-a-Latte seminar series on the topic (see the link above). We had Mommy Homework during that series. Since I am still working on the book, the Mommy Homework assignments from that seminar are still OPEN for comment! You can share Mommy Homework and earn the book. Plus! Your children’s work can be included in the book (illustrations/copywork/narration samples)–talk about inspiration for your most reluctant writer. 🙂 PLUS! A super way to receive the book as my gift! Hope you can be a part.
Get ready! It is going to be a wonderful, wonderful book! Thanks for asking!
Love,
Cindy