“I would have children taught to read before they learn the mechanical arts of reading and writing… A child does not lose by spending a couple of years in acquiring these because he is meanwhile “reading” the Bible, history, geography, tales, with close attention and a remarkable power of reproduction, or rather, of translation into … Continue reading "Learning Vocabulary in Context"
With the beginning of a brand new year just getting started, it’s a great time to reflect on the year that’s passed. I know I love to sit down with a notebook and remind myself of my favorite memories, goals met, funny moments with the kids I don’t want to forget and of course a … Continue reading "Ring in the New Year with a Freebie!"
Copywork can seem deceptively simple. Give your child a sentence or two and have them copy it. It can seem like pointless busy work, but the benefits are tremendous. First, copywork takes the place of penmanship practice. Once a child learns how to write their letters comfortably, they are ready to start simple copywork. Start … Continue reading "How to Teach Copywork"
One of the questions I get asked the most is what to do with the vocabulary words that are scheduled in the instructor’s guide. I’ve spoken about learning vocabulary in context, and I still believe that this is the best way to learn vocabulary. But sometimes, you want something more. Off and on during our … Continue reading "Vocabulary Notebook Freebie"
I’ve mentioned a few times now that I’ll be combining my older three children into Level 7 – Exploring Your World, and several people have asked me what I’m adding to it to make it high school level for my oldest. So I thought I’d go ahead and write a blog post to explain how we … Continue reading "Multi-Grade Teaching – An Example"
One of the staples of Build Your Library curriculum are the Narration Cards. Narration is really the foundation of my program. Narration builds thinking skills, writing skills, vocabulary, listening skills – it is such an important part of your child’s learning. Build Your Library lesson plans assign narration after both the literature (read alouds) and … Continue reading "New – History and Science Based Narration Cards"
Narration is really the backbone of the Charlotte Mason philosophy, and a major tenet of the Build Your Library curriculum. At it’s core, narration is simply telling back what you read or heard. It is a way to sharpen listening skills. Narration takes the place of reading comprehension and tests – you no longer need … Continue reading "What is Narration?"
Dictation is really the majority of our language arts. It is a tried and true method and has been used successfully for centuries. If used correctly, I feel that dictation covers so many aspects, that it really can be the basis of any language arts program. It adequately covers both grammar and spelling, not to mention a deep exposure to … Continue reading "How Does Dictation Work?"
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