A CHARLOTTE MASON CURRICULM FAIR
The other night my local Charlotte Mason group got together for an annual event we like to call “A Charlotte Mason Fair.” The idea is for local members of our CM Co-op and our CM Mom’s Study Group to bring the books (there were books galore!) and resources that they love to share with other moms who may be at the beginning of their journey with the CM method.
There are experienced CM moms standing at the tables, showing off the books and resources they love, ready and willing to answer questions to anyone who might happen by.
It’s a simple idea and yet it has a profound effect.
This post is going to have two parts. First, THE BOOKS! Because everybody loves books and everybody wants to know what books are in those pictures! And the second part will be the HOW-TO part.
PART 1: THE BOOKS!
Stories form the History of Rome by Beesley – Charlotte used this book under the subject of Citizenship as an introduction to Plutarch in Form 2 and is recommended on the CM SUBJECTS: CITIZENSHIP page.
Ancient Times by Breasted – Charlotte assigned this book for Ancient History in Form 4
Life and Her Children by Arabella Buckley – Charlotte used this as a Science book for Form 3 and 4
Eyes and No Eyes by Arabella Buckley – this was a series of books that Charlotte used for Science in Form 1 (see Insect Life and others in the series)
The Story of Squanto by Cathy Dubowski
Leif Erikkson and Men, Microscopes, and Living Things by Katherine Shippen
Rocks, Rivers and the Changing Earth by Herman Schneider
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
Favorite Poems Old and New by Helen Ferris
Shakespeare Stories Book I by Leon Garfield – these are my favorite Shakespeare retellings of all time! And here’s Book II. Both are recommended on the CM SUBJECTS: SHAKESPEARE page.
Remember the Alamo! by Robert Penn Warren (A Landmark book) is great for Texas History (I’m a Texan)
These are all books that I brought to the fair. They are some of the books I recommend on the CM SUBJECTS: HISTORY page:
King George: What was His Problem? by Steve Sheinkin for Form 2 American History
Great Tales from English History by Robert Lacey for Form 3 and up English History
The Story of the Greek People by Eva March Tappan for Form 2 Ancient History
These Truths by Jill Lepore is a book that I will be recommending for Forms 4-6 American History
LOTS of books on this table! I’ll list some:
Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty – this book was listed under “Sunday Reading” for Form 1 in some of Charlotte’s Programmes
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dagliesh
What are You Figuring Now? by Jeri Ferris
Animal Clothing by George Mason
Then Sings My Soul by Robert Morgan
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by NC Wyeth
Oars, Sails, and Steam by Edwin Tunis
The Book of the Ancient Romans by Dorothy Mills
Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason
Home Geography by CC Long
A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa
Birds of Texas Field Guide by Stan Tekiela
Lives of the Musicians by Kathleen Krull
Biographies of composers such as Sebastian Bach and Joseph Haydn by Opal Wheeler
The Oxford Book of Children’s Verse in America edited by Donald Hall
You can find more poetry books for each Form on the CM SUBJECTS: LITERATURE page.
Books and Resources by me!
The CM Your Way Form Guides help you create your own CM curriculum, plan your own schedule, and choose living books! Forms PreK – Form 4 are available now.
Finding Your Way with Charlotte Mason’s 20 Principles Study Guide is FREE! We’re currently on Principle #10. You should join us!
This is the Plenary Annotated Edition of Volume 1: Home Education, annotated by me and my friend, Ruk Martin! (Vol1 & Vol6 have new covers and you can see all our CM Annotated Editions HERE). Here are the updated covers in the next picture:
We put a LOT of work into those! Yes, there are other reprints of Charlotte’s Volumes out there, but none of them are ANNOTATED!
I create Plutarch Guides to MAKE PLUTARCH EASIER TO DO as well as Picture Studies to go along with them.
Picture Studies for various artists are also available, including American artist and illustrator NC Wyeth.
And the Updated Edition of America First by Lawton Evans was peeking out in the upper left corner of that other photo. This book has been completely updated (by me).
Maps: Getting from Here to There by Harvey Weiss is great for Form 1 Geography.
Brushwork by Marion Hudson
A Broken Flute: the Native Experience in Books for Children by Doris Seale is a great resource to find more books from a Native American perspective.
Books by African-American Authors for Children and Young Adults by Helen Williams is another fantastic resource.
PART 2: HOW TO HOST YOUR OWN CM FAIR
SIMPLE. FREE. JOYFUL.
First, find some friends. It could be as few as two or three moms getting together over tea at someone’s house to share books. Or, if you’re lucky enough to have a CM community, ask for moms who who are experienced in the CM method to join you.
Find a location that will be big enough to host all those books! Set a date and then let people know about it. Share the event in a local homeschooling Facebook group.
Meanwhile, gather all those books and resources that you love and coordinate so that there won’t be too many duplicates. Although, duplicates can sometimes show new moms which resources and books are most often used and loved.
On the night of your CM Fair, set up your tables and displays. Then enjoy the inevitable conversation that arises about all those beautiful, inviting, living books.
Even if no one else attends, it’s still a win-win because you can share those books and resources and ideas with each other!
As it turned out, this year we had about 10 local CM moms sharing and only about 15 new moms attending, but the evening was full of joy and laughter, and before we knew it, several hours had flown by.
It really is that simple.
CONTINUE SHARING. CONTINUE LEARNING.
Learning about the CM method does not have to be complicated or overwhelming. It can be as simple as a few friends getting together at a coffee shop or at a park while the kids play.
Start a study group. Maybe you want to study Charlotte’s 20 Principles first or maybe you’d like to tackle Charlotte’s Volume One: Home Education first. Whatever you decide, doing it with friends is better.
Find the support you need or create it yourself. The important thing is to begin.
Make it Simple. Free. Joyful.
Make it CM Your Way.
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