Home is where you start from: Short lessons

Friday, March 23, 2007

Short lessons

The thought of ample time for our kids to play, imagine, create, read, or just "hang out" and think made homeschooling very attractive to us. We wanted afternoons free from yet more schoolwork for the kids to just be kids and enjoy their childhood. For the non-homeschoolers around us though, this concept is somewhat mystifying. "How will they know how to do homework?", and "How can you get through your school day so quickly, shouldn't you have lessons until 3:00 like the school does?" are questions often put to us.

Jeannie Fulbright shares some thoughts on studies regarding actual instruction time in public schools here.

One of the aspects of Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education that I found intriguing is her emphasis on short lessons, with afternoons free.

"The method consists of short morning lessons with a large variety of subjects. Charlotte says it is the hours the children spend working, not the quantity of subjects, that fatigues them. Their minds are invigorated by switching to different subjects as often as every fifteen to twenty minutes when the children are in younger grades...They have all afternoon and evening free to enjoy being a child, to pursue hobbies, and to read. They are not assigned homework...they are not allowed to dawdle during lessons." -Catherine Levison, "A Charlotte Mason education" pg.8

..."In the first place, never let the child dawdle over copy-book or sum, sit dreaming with his book before him. When a child grows stupid over a lesson, it is time to put it away. Let him do another lesson as unlike the last as possible, and then go back with freshened wits to his unfinished task." -Charlotte Mason, "Home Education vol.1 pg141

"This idea of definite work to be finished in a given time is valuable to the child, not only as training him in habits of order, but in diligence; he learns that one time is not 'as good as another'; that there is no right time left for what is not done in its own time; and this knowledge alone does a great deal to secure the child's attention to his work. Again, the lessons are short, seldom more than twenty minutes in length for children under eight;..."-ibid, pg. 142

There is no need of homework for the elementary aged child because using this philosophy, the child immediately handles the lesson or book by narrating it orally or on paper, proving his mastery. Homework would be less effective than this immediate opportunity for reinforcement.
Short readings from several different living books, spread out throughout the week has the added advantage of supplying to our children "something to think about". Charlotte Mason proposed that we insure that each day our children have-

someone or something to love
something to do
something to think about

more on those thoughts in a later post...

Labels: Charlotte Mason, homeschool

posted at 1:32 AM
7 comments

7 Comments:

At 7:56 AM, TheNormalMiddle said...: Hey, I guess everything we do at home is really home-work isn't it? :)

Yes, when my friends drone on and on about the never-ending homework their kids have to do (hours!) each night, I just smile.

We don't have to fool with that!

BTW, when I was a teacher full time in the schools, I only assigned very small things at home. I might send home some work if a child didn't finish at school. I NEVER EVER assigned any work on Wed nights and on weekends b/c I wanted my kids to be able to go to church and do family things.

I guess even back then I was somewhat of a family-first homeschooler at heart.

A few of my colleagues would get upset with me for not giving homework nightly. Why? Because the next year when my kids would move up to their classes in 5th grade, they said the parents complained that they had so much work, and I had "spoiled" them. I just let it roll off.
At 8:25 AM, Susanne said...: Having my kids in the school system dare I say that as a parent I do notice how much time is really wasted during the school day? If a child has the self discipline to complete all her tasks at school, like my oldest always does, and doesn't need extra help, then she just has very minimal homework. But flip to my youngest, who a lot of times needs help, a lot of time is wasted waiting her turn, and the result is always homework.
At 8:49 AM, Tricia said...: I so want to incorporate more of Charlotte Masson’s theories into my homeschool. Somehow it seems hard to do, like if the lessons are not long or if they are not working all day it is not school. I must learn to let go of my old public school mentality.

We would all be happier for it.
Thanks for the reminder!
At 11:13 AM, Anonymous said...: THANK YOU FOR THIS POST!!!!!

If you click on my name you will see the grief that I have been dealing with. I so needed to hear about the wasted time in school.

You made my day!
At 10:25 PM, Melissa Stover said...: absolutely! that is the best and greatest reason we homeschool. after my nap on the couch and their afternoon of freedom in the playhouse we took a walk together in the woods. what did we talk about? angiosperms and nonvascular plants! well, part of the time. we also talked about all the bugs we are seeing and my son had to stop every few minutes to poke a stick into every hole in the ground he saw.
At 7:29 AM, Cyndi said...: I loved this post! I posted a few months ago about going back to those "three things" in my homeschool. That has helped me to center us this spring, and keep a better perspective. Does Fulbright's book deal with jr. and high school? That's the stage we're in and I'm having a harder time "Mason-izing" our studies like I did in the elementary years.
At 1:52 PM, Anonymous said...: I was homeschooling for several years going my own sweet way and then I discovered that my own sweet way was really for the most pasrtt Charlotte Mason style--and I am a former teacher with parents who are teachers. IT just seemed right and it was how I learned best, taught best, and how the kids seem to learn best.

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