Saturday, September 19, 2015

Mother Culture: A Charlotte Mason Support Group in Bradford, Ontario *Note date change!*

** Please note the date changes below.  Thank you all for your kind words and support as our family has struggled to find health this fall.  We are pleased to report that hubby is now recovering at home after a week long hospital stay. **

I am so excited to start a new year of Charlotte Mason Support Group!  As many of you know I host this little book club for very selfish reasons as I am so energized and encouraged by the visits of like-minded mamas every 5-6 week.  You give me a boost that helps me to imagine I might survive this crazy game for a few more weeks. 

If you have never visited, please feel welcome to come and join us.  This is a meeting for home educating parents interested in or practicing the Charlotte Mason philosophy.  Babes in arms are welcome but otherwise it is a nice evening for mom’s to get out and just socialize without our little cherubs.  We meet on Thursdays from 7:30-9:30.  This year, we are going to turn over a new leaf and start promptly at 7:30 and I will give an incentive – an on-time draw – for the first meeting, so come a few minutes early if you can. :)

Our readings and discussion always revolve around the Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education and the implementation of that philosophy.  If you are unfamiliar with her then, in short, she was a British educator of about 100 years ago who believed in the value and ability of all children despite their age or social status: a revolutionary idea at the time.  She taught that we have three main tools of education which are summed up in the phrase, “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life”.  In other words, we don’t just set before our kids a vast cornucopia of academic matter (life) but just as important is the acquisition of strong habits (discipline) like attentiveness and perseverance in order to prepare us for adult life and work.  And all of this must be presented in a way that doesn’t talk down to kids but respects them as persons and thereby doesn’t bribe them to learn for the sake of marks or the satisfaction of the teacher but for the love of learning itself.  She encouraged us to do this by not creating a specialized schoolish environment (atmosphere) but by putting our kids in touch with great ideas, amazing literature, beautiful artwork, and music and simply experiencing them. As such, she encouraged the use of narration, living books, short lessons and lots of free time, nature hikes, and being exposed to great art and music. 

If this style of educating resonates with your family and you live nearby enough to the Bradford, Ontario area, then plan to visit and jot the dates in your calendar now.  The book that we are reading this year is For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.  I’ve read this book before and it is among my top three homeschooling book favourites.  Rereading it right now is such a treat.  It’s very inspirational and philosophical.  If you’d like a copy of the book, I have extras in stock at $18.75 each, plus GST.

The dates and reading schedule are below.  Please do let me know if you are coming so I know how many folks to plan for.  If you haven’t been here before, email me for address information at cori@mapletreepublications.ca.

In addition to our book study we also try to bring balance to the meeting with some theory or practical application.  This year we decided to add practical pursuits for moms, or what Miss Mason would call “Mother Culture”, some of the passions and hobbies that we as mamas pursue to enrich our own education, (which, in turn, will enrich the lives and education of our children).  We would love to have 8 different people volunteer to lead discussion on these chats and so far have had many suggestions but only settled on the topic for the first meeting: Catherine Dell’Erba will be sharing about organic living and choosing foods wisely for our families so please feel free to bring any ideas or resources that could add to that discussion as well.

Dates, reading assignments, and mother culture topics are as follows:

September 24th, 2015 - CANCELLED
Read Introduction and Chapter 1: What is Education? (pages 1-11)
Mother Culture: Organic living facilitated by Catherine Dell’Erba

October 22nd - * NOTE DATE CORRECTION *  
Read Introduction and Chapter 1: What is Education? (pages 1-11)
 & Chapter 2: “Children Are Born Persons” (pages 12-41)
Mother Culture: TBA

December 3rd  
Read Chapter 3: Authority and Freedom (pages 42-58)
Mother Culture: TBA

January 7th, 2016
Read Chapter 4: A New Perspective (pages 59-90)
Mother Culture: TBA

February 11th  
Read Chapter 5: Education: A Science of Relationships; Knowledge of God (pages 91-105)
Mother Culture: TBA

March 24th  
Read Chapter 5: Education: A Science of Relationships; Knowledge of Man (pages 106-132)
Mother Culture: TBA

(April 2nd KWCHEA Conference in Kitchener, Ontario)
(April 16th RVHEA Conference in Ottawa, Ontario)
(April 29th & 30th OCHEC Convention in Hamilton, Ontario)

May 5th
Read Chapter 5: Education: A Science of Relationships; Knowledge of the Universe (pages 133-147)
Mother Culture: TBA

(May 28th KATCH Conference in Peterborough, Ontario)
(May 27th & 28th HENB Conference in Sussex, New Brunswick)

June 2nd
Read Chapter 6: The Way of the Will, Reason, and the Unity of the Whole (pages 148-158)
Mother Culture: TBA

(June??? Tentative: Barrie New and Used Homeschool Sale)
(June 10th TEACH New and Use Sale in Brantford, Ontario)

Looking forward to seeing many of you at these gatherings! I am so looking forward to these meetings this year.

Blessings on your 2015-2016 home school year!

Cori

cori@mapletreepublications.ca
905-778-9412

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