Charlotte Mason in Community


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Starting a Home Based Community

Picture
When we began homeschooling, our local homeschooling community in South Carolina was very small, with most families belonging to either a nationally organized group or a community that centered on providing social interaction.  The few home schoolers I met who were interested in Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and methods were, like me, fairly new to homeschooling and unsure how to form a community of like-minded parents and children.

So we began on a very small scale.  One or two families would come over to our house, and we would do a nature study on a flower or tree in our backyard.  I provided watercolor paint, a brush and a small piece of watercolor paper.  We followed the nature study process that I had learned at a CMI conference five years previous.  Another mother would offer a 15-20 minute piano lesson for my children.  The third mother would read a short selection in “Among the Farmyard People,” and the children would take turns narrating it.  It was very simple and easy to do, and several years later, each one of our children still remember the stories they read and the plants they studied on these days. There is something about this community, whether you are a child or a parent, that makes these indelible memories that are lovely and special.  And we should remember that these times of fellowship and cooperation are as important to the parents as they are to the children.

The very easiest way to create a Mason community is with your friends.  Take turns meeting in someone’s home.  Decide on a day to meet at the park or a museum and do a casual nature study or picture study.  Start simply.  No one really needs to own the Handbook of Nature Study to do a nature study.  Choose the simplest flower in your yard; I can guarantee you will learn something new about it.  Hang a hummingbird feeder, catch butterflies or pick up a dead cicada.  Rotate responsibilities such as reading or singing.  

If after your studies, you can provide the children time for masterly inactivity, you will have the opportunity to fellowship with other parents. Chances are, you, your friend and your children will find this so rewarding that your group will grow to a few more than two families.

Some Suggestions for a Home Based Community

  • Take turns meeting in different homes; bi-weekly seems to be a good frequency
  • Make it casual and comfortable
  • Start with simple activities
  • Rotate responsibilities and focus on what are parent's gifts (one may be a piano player, an artist, a great storyteller/reader, organizing games, etc) 
  • Plan picnic lunches
  • Sing songs, like folk songs, traditional children's songs and hymns
  • Encourage children to bring or describe "discoveries" they made the past week, especially nature discoveries
  • Meet at local parks, arboretums or nature preserves for a long nature walk
  • Provide time for masterly inactivity
  • Fellowship with other parents
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  • Home
    • Contact CMIC
  • Find A Community
    • Add/Edit Your Community
    • Add/Edit Your Online Community
  • Conferences/Retreats
    • Add/Edit Your Retreat/Conference
  • Living Books Libraries
    • Add/Edit Your Library
  • Start a Community
    • Hosting Information Sessions
    • Starting a Book Study
    • Starting a Home Based Community
    • Charlotte Mason Cottage School >
      • Beginning a Cottage School
      • Sample Course of Study
      • Sample Schedule
      • Cottage School Resources
    • Educational Cooperative >
      • CM Community Examples >
        • Considering Lilies (NC)
        • Great River Learning (OH)
        • Overstone School (KY)
        • Truth, Beauty, Goodness Community (MN)
      • Co-op Class Examples >
        • Classes - Ex. 1
        • Classes - Ex. 2
      • Co-op Schedule Examples >
        • Schedule - Ex. 1
        • Schedule - Ex. 2
      • Co-op Operations >
        • Sample Member Application
        • Sample Parent Handbook
  • Co-op Resources
    • Picture Studies >
      • Picture Study Tutorial
      • John James Audubon
      • Michelangelo Buanarroti
      • Mary Cassatt
      • Paul Cezanne
      • Edgar Degas
      • Albrecht Durer
      • M. C. Escher
      • Edward Hicks
      • Winslow Homer
      • Gilbert Stuart
      • Vincent van Gogh
      • Benjamin West
    • Composer Studies >
      • Composer Study Tutorial
      • Louis Armstrong
      • Ludwig van Beethoven
      • Duke Ellington & Louis Armstrong
      • George Frideric Handel
      • Henry Purcell
      • John Williams
    • Hymn and Song Studies >
      • Studying Hymns and Songs
      • Hymns
      • Patriotic Songs
      • Folk Songs
      • Traditional Children's Songs
    • Poetry Studies >
      • Studying Poetry
      • Walter de la Mare
      • Emily Dickinson
      • Robert Frost
      • AA Milne
      • James Whitcomb Riley
      • Christina Rossetti
      • Robert Louis Stevenson
    • Nature Study >
      • Nature Study Tutorial
    • Co-Op Supplies