This week I’m writing + filming about a hallmark This week I’m writing + filming about a hallmark of the Charlotte Mason method: narration. Have you ever heard of it? What would you like to know? 

I’m focusing heavily on how we use narration in our homeschool, but if you have specific questions about it, I would love for you to 1. Take the poll in my stories, and 2. Ask any questions you may have about narration in the comments so that I can answer them in my video! ❤️
Happy Mother’s Day! I especially want to encoura Happy Mother’s Day! I especially want to encourage those who are intentionally making a better life for their children than what they may have experienced as kids. It is not easy to change the cycle, but it’s well worth the effort. 

In the words of Louisa May Alcott, “A woman's happiest kingdom is home, her highest honor is the art of ruling it not as a queen, but a wise wife and mother."
📚 We are moving right along with term three of 📚 We are moving right along with term three of our school year. Slow but steady, we will finish up mid June and I’ll begin prepping for next school year in July and August! 📚

Here’s some of my random old and new tips + what I’ve been doing to help keep organized with the CMEC. 

01. Keep a regular day for nature outings or field trips. We have two days a week where I intentionally plan a hike or museum visit, etc. One is usually at the middle of the week and the other is at the end. It offers great variety to our weeks.

02. Notebook! I have had the girls consistently notebook this year, and it’s been such a delight to go back and see my form 1b student’s progress! I have a video coming out about how we notebook and why you should try it very soon! 

03. To stay on track with our morning timetable I’ve been writing the time we end each lesson in my logbook. It’s really changed how productive I am in making sure we get everything on our timetable done for the day. (I have a video on my logbook if you’re interested in learning more about that!)

04. And 05. Popsicle sticks! Friends, if you’re already a CMEC family, use these to help you choose which activities you review! I have on these for old singing games, French songs, folk dances or Swedish drill routines. I’ll share more on what I have on ours, specifically, but it’s fun because the girls and I get to be surprised rather than me choosing what we review!

06. Art instruction. Originally I had us doing three art lessons per week in the afternoon, but it didn’t allow for enough free choice, so we’ve reduced it down to one formal lesson a week for six weeks, then we change the method. So right now we are in week two of our chalkdrawing lessons. After six weeks we will switch to brush drawing instruction for the remainder of the term! As Charlotte Mason recommends, we draw from memory, model, and from imagination. 🌞

I hope this was helpful to you! So many of you guys are using @the.cmec next year! I am SO excited to see all of you at the online form meetings this coming year! 👏🏻 #thecmec #thecmecform1 #charlottemason
Do you keep your spices in a cabinet, on a shelf o Do you keep your spices in a cabinet, on a shelf or in a drawer? This drawer is right next to my stove and it’s my favorite way to store my spices! I reuse these little jars and fill them every couple of weeks with my bulk @azurestandard spices. 🧂
Are you planting a garden this year? What are you Are you planting a garden this year? What are you growing? Containers and raised beds? Or in ground? What do you plan to grow? Veggies? Flowers? We are doing a little bit of everything. 😍

It’s my third year growing food. (And ironically, our third house 😅) We just got our @greenstalkgarden planter, several @smartpots, and six raised beds that are ready to be filled next weekend. Really looking forward to this gardening season! 🥕🥬🥦🌽🌶🫑🫐🍓🥔
“Let then once get in touch with nature and a ha “Let then once get in touch with nature and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life.” -Charlotte Mason 

My kiddo had a birthday this past weekend. We do one main gift and a couple of small gifts; typically they’re  things they can use outdoors. Bikes have been a popular birthday item around here! My eldest wanted an apple tree last year. ☺️ But this year we got N a mud kitchen! Some friends of ours had one they built, and it inspired us. My kiddos have been playing on the forest floor in the mud for years now, but it’s exciting for them to have a little space in our garden for mud play. 🌳 What are some fun outdoorsy gifts you’ve purchased for your kids?
📚 When should I teach my child to read? How sho 📚 When should I teach my child to read? How should I teach my child to read? What does Charlotte Mason say about reading lessons? How did she teach children how to read? What curriculum do you use to teach your child how to read? 📚
These are all questions I answered in my blog post and video, “teaching reading the Charlotte Mason way” 📚 you can also swipe over to see some of my favorite CM quotes on teaching reading! 📚

I also shared what I do with my 3-year-old (which is very minimal) if you have younger children. You can view the post at the link in my profile! Are you up children school-aged? What do you use to teach reading?
I needed to accomplish a lot today. There was more I needed to accomplish a lot today. There was more unpacking and organizing to be done, pictures to be framed, meal planning to do, laundry that needed folding, bike rides to be had, meals to be prepared, sourdough to be prepped and lesson planning + pre-reading to do. Oh and dishes. So many dishes. 😅

I do essentially all of the inside housework aside from taking out the trash + recycle, but for a season my husband helped out while N was small by doing dinner dishes and sometimes even preparing dinner so I could nurse her after we ate. But as of late, I’m trying something new where I don’t ask my husband to clean up after dinner and instead I do it myself. I don’t mind it, and since my girls are old enough to get their own pj’s on now, I’ve been doing dinner clean-up (as well as lunch and breakfast clean-up and prep!) before I head upstairs to tuck them in, read them a story and sit with them while they fall asleep. Call me old fashioned, but I’m happy to do it, and I delight in my husband being able to enjoy some time with the girls after dinner instead of clean up a mess after a long day of working.

I’m not really sure where I’m going with this post - I’ve felt pulled in so many directions today and it’s something I feel often, (and I’m sure so many of you can relate) but after five months without a home to care for and nurture I simply can’t feel frustrated or annoyed at my list of 10,000 things I need to do. Instead I pray my way through each task. I sip tea in between. I light a candle and wear my great-grandmother’s apron as I work. I read notes like the one my six-year-old left for me this morning and I weep tears of gratitude and joy. Happy Sunday, my friends. ❤️ 
.
(swipe to read her note 🥰 + a transcription in the comments!)
Remember that word we heard so often when we were Remember that word we heard so often when we were parenting infants? Attachment.  What comes to mind? Breastfeeding on demand. Co-sleeping. Babywearing. All of those things that come pretty natural to us when taking care of a baby. But did you know that attachment doesn’t just end when your child gets bigger? Attachment is actually necessary THROUGH adolescence. 😳

Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté is a brilliant book that stopped me in my tracks. The book addresses the severe lack of attachment to parents that is incidentally replaced by an attachment to peers. I wrote all about it on my blog, but if you swipe over you can see a few passages that I underlined, highlighted, and wrote down in my notebook. 

Peer culture is more prevalent than ever. Not only because our society now prefers it that way, but because of social media’s ability to unite our youth in an unprecedented way. What we need is a shift in how we pass down culture to our kids from a horizontal attachment (peer to peer) back to a vertical attachment (family to child). I’ve often felt this long before I read this book, but we prioritize our Children’s friendships and relationships with others before we prioritize their relationships with us. We don’t value the family unit the way we used to decades ago, and it’s to the detriment of our children. 

I will gift this book to every new parent I meet from now on because of the wisdom the authors share. I wish all parents would read it so we could be on the same page as a society and those of us who choose to hold on to our kids wouldn’t be going against the grain. So this is my plea to you. If anything I’ve said piqued your interest, or struck a chord, please read Hold On To Your Kids! ✨

(For those of you who have read it! Share your thoughts with us! Help me convince everyone to read it! 👏🏻)
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Babywearing • September 23, 2016

Babywearing | 18 Things Babywearing Helped Me Do This Past Year

If you follow me on any of my social media accounts, or read my blog often, you know two things about me. 1. I love hats, and 2., I am obsessed with babywearing. Like. obsessed. I honestly don’t know where I would be, or what kind of mother I would be if I didn’t have my wraps or carriers.
The truth is, babywearing has left an imprint on my soul. It’s an ethereal experience that has shaped who I am as a woman and mother. It’s forever changed me, and for that I am so, so thankful.
Not only has babywearing bettered my experiences with motherhood, but it’s also allowed me to do SO much more than I ever thought I could do with a child. If you don’t believe me, here are eighteen amazing things babywearing has helped me do in the past year.
 
1. Help me get my baby to sleep when she was restless/teething/didn’t want to sleep alone.

 

2. Tackle the airport and traveling without a stroller.

 

3. Go to a Sufjan Stevens concert.

 

4. Have photos taken for my blog (several times, actually).
5. Go on daily walks in the park, sans stroller, always.
6. Keep my baby near me. Always.

 

7. Take a trip to the beach with only the things you see in my hands!

 

8. Wrangle a busy toddler (literally no matter where I go).

9. Visit an orange grove to pick oranges!
10. Go on a mall shopping date with my grandma!
11. Comfort my babe when she wasn’t feeling well.
12. Get lots of house cleaning done.

 

13. Watch my husband form his own bond with our daughter.
 

 

14. Tackle Ikea + the grocery store + everywhere else without having to chase my little one or set her in a cart!

15. Breastfeed on the go! (This is a total game-changer you guys).

16. Explore the five-star resort on our vacation!

17. Form a necessary attachment with my baby that will help her succeed now and later in life.

18. Make tons of new mom friends and friends for G to play with!
In twenty years, when I think back on my life and reflect on motherhood, there will be one thing (other than memories of my little babes, of course) that will stand out to me most, and that is wearing my children, keeping them close.
p.s. October 5-10th is International Babywearing Week, and the anniversary of when I started regularly wearing G. Check out your local BWI (babywearing international) chapter for more info on how you can become a babywearing fan too! 
xo. L

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Filed Under: Babywearing Tagged With: babywearing, tula baby carriers, wear all the babies

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Comments

  1. still being [molly] says

    September 23, 2016 at 8:49 pm

    love this post!! i am also a huge babywearing fan! i've worn both my kids and it's been a huge part of my mom life 🙂

    Reply
  2. Miriam Cohen says

    September 23, 2016 at 8:56 pm

    Love seeing all these gorgeous photos of you wearing your little!!

    Reply
  3. Ashley Hargrove says

    September 23, 2016 at 9:09 pm

    I love this!! And you look absolutely amazing in every single photo!! I would be quite disheveled with a baby! haha 😉

    Reply
  4. Brie Bemis @ Sophistifunk says

    September 23, 2016 at 10:54 pm

    Such a great post! You look so gorgeous! And it's crazy how much you're able to get done when baby wearing. 🙂

    xo Brie

    Reply
  5. Kasey Goedeker says

    September 24, 2016 at 3:04 am

    Wow, that is so cool! I;m sure you two formed quite the bond!

    Reply
  6. Sara Sabaliauskas says

    September 24, 2016 at 4:11 am

    This is one of the neatest and sweetest posts I've ever read! Honestly, brought tears to my eyes to see how truly happy you and G are. As near our wedding and have begun conversations around starting our own family next year, this speaks to my heart! Thank you for being such an inspiring, stylish, and real woman!

    xo, Sara

    Reply
  7. Lavenda Memory says

    September 26, 2016 at 4:57 am

    I love how you integrate the carriers into your life so seamlessly. You add so much color and fun with the prints and colors. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Unknown says

    September 26, 2016 at 5:14 am

    Great post! You look so beautiful! Amazing pictures!

    Rita | http://www.styleroundtheclock.com

    Reply
  9. Dashing Darlin' says

    September 26, 2016 at 6:27 am

    This is so perfect! Love that you shared this sweetness which includes that precious baby!!

    xoxo,
    Angelle
    http://www.dashingdarlin.com

    Reply
  10. Jessica says

    September 26, 2016 at 6:42 am

    You have so many cute ways of wearing your baby! Love that you love to be so close to her!
    – Jessica
    Miss Moore Style

    Reply
  11. Shelby Vanhoy says

    September 26, 2016 at 11:06 am

    OMG this is the cutest post ever! Ah, such sweet photos! I'm not a mommy yet but one day, I will definitely be a baby-wearer! so cute!

    xo, Shelby
    http://www.prettyinthepines.com

    Reply
  12. Sarah Lindner says

    September 26, 2016 at 12:36 pm

    I love this and you look gorg in every photo! You make being a mom look so easy!
    xoxo
    Sarah Lindner
    http://www.thehouseofsequins.com

    Reply
  13. Lauren {Fizz and Frosting} says

    September 26, 2016 at 1:20 pm

    This is such a great post. I LOVED wearing my little one! It was such a fun experience.

    Fizz and Frosting​

    Reply
  14. Nina says

    September 26, 2016 at 1:23 pm

    I love baby wearing! I never did it with our first, but have with our second little man and it's been awesome. Thanks for the fab mom inspiration!

    xx Nina
    http://www.theHSSfeed.com

    Reply
  15. Shannon Rice says

    September 26, 2016 at 2:51 pm

    All of these pictures are so cute! Definitely need to keep baby wearing in mind when the times comes because clearly it is the best way to get things done!

    Shannon
    Clothes & Quotes

    Reply
  16. Carolyna Bauer says

    September 26, 2016 at 3:03 pm

    Beautiful photos of you and your little one. Have a great week. XOXO, Carolyna
    http://www.carolynabauer.com

    Reply
  17. Laura Beverlin says

    September 26, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    This is so adorable! I love how you show all the things you can accomplish with a little one. So inspiring!

    xo,
    Laura
    Styled Adventures

    Reply
  18. Fashionfriesx says

    September 26, 2016 at 7:52 pm

    This is such a great post ! You look beautiful and your baby is adorable!!! Xo

    Reply
  19. Morgan Flinchum says

    September 27, 2016 at 12:26 am

    Aww I loved hearing about these! I want to do this when I have a little one!

    -Morgan
    How 2 Wear It [] http://how2wearit.com

    Reply
  20. Bella B says

    September 27, 2016 at 1:23 am

    I love this!!! They are all so cute and they come in so many different colours!

    http://xoxobella.com

    Reply
  21. Greta Hollar says

    September 27, 2016 at 9:14 am

    Such sweet photos! All of my friends who are moms love babywearing!

    Greta | http://www.gretahollar.com

    Reply
  22. Emily Chapelle says

    September 27, 2016 at 2:26 pm

    I love these all so so much! It makes me miss back carries a ton… hopefully I can do them again soon. Still love my ring sling for carrying Henry on my front.

    Reply
  23. Sandy a la Mode says

    September 27, 2016 at 3:44 pm

    ahhh you make me miss babywearing!!!

    xo,
    Sandy
    Sandy a la Mode

    Reply
  24. Emily Helm says

    September 27, 2016 at 3:49 pm

    So adorable! So many great memories with your babe!

    Reply
  25. Maggie Zemanek says

    September 27, 2016 at 11:47 pm

    Great list!! I love the different fabrics too 🙂

    http://www.maggiealamode.com

    Reply
  26. Laura B @ Walking in Memphis in High Heels says

    September 28, 2016 at 10:53 pm

    Babywearing is still my favorite at 2 years. It has helped us so much!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. New Mom Essentials | Items I Used Daily in the First Year - Living In Color says:
    February 16, 2017 at 6:24 am

    […] baby carriers saved my life. Read more about how babywearing affects my experience with motherhood here. A HIGH CHAIR COVER For the germaphobes out there…(myself included) this one’s for […]

    Reply
  2. Babywearing | Beginners Guide To Using A Ring Sling - Living in Color says:
    March 9, 2017 at 6:38 am

    […] my other babywearing posts. Happy babywearing! BABYWEARING FOR BEGINNERS | LEARNING THE ROPES EIGHTEEN THINGS BABYWEARING HELPED ME DO THIS PAST YEAR DADS WHO WEAR BABIES ORANGE GROVES WITH TULA BABY CARRIERS xo. […]

    Reply
  3. Babywearing | How to do a Double Hammock Carry (DH) - Living in Color says:
    March 29, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    […]   CHECK OUT THESE OTHER BABYWEARING POSTS: BABYWEARING FOR BEGINNERS | LEARNING THE ROPES EIGHTEEN THINGS BABYWEARING HELPED ME DO THIS PAST YEAR DADS WHO WEAR BABIES ORANGE GROVES WITH TULA BABY CARRIERS xo. […]

    Reply
  4. Babywearing | What's in my Baby Carrier Stash (Video) - Living in Color says:
    May 3, 2017 at 4:54 pm

    […] EIGHTEEN THINGS BABYWEARING HELPED ME DO THIS PAST YEAR […]

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    July 28, 2017 at 3:39 am

    […] in more info on babywearing, see my posts below! BABYWEARING FOR BEGINNERS | LEARNING THE ROPES EIGHTEEN THINGS BABYWEARING HELPED ME DO THIS PAST YEAR DADS WHO WEAR […]

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I'm Larissa. A mama to daughters and wife to my college sweetheart. I am passionate about sustainable fashion, whole foods recipes, and Charlotte Mason home education. I also love being outdoors with my family. You can usually find me sporting a wide-brimmed hat, with a baby on my back.

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This week I’m writing + filming about a hallmark This week I’m writing + filming about a hallmark of the Charlotte Mason method: narration. Have you ever heard of it? What would you like to know? 

I’m focusing heavily on how we use narration in our homeschool, but if you have specific questions about it, I would love for you to 1. Take the poll in my stories, and 2. Ask any questions you may have about narration in the comments so that I can answer them in my video! ❤️
Happy Mother’s Day! I especially want to encoura Happy Mother’s Day! I especially want to encourage those who are intentionally making a better life for their children than what they may have experienced as kids. It is not easy to change the cycle, but it’s well worth the effort. 

In the words of Louisa May Alcott, “A woman's happiest kingdom is home, her highest honor is the art of ruling it not as a queen, but a wise wife and mother."
📚 We are moving right along with term three of 📚 We are moving right along with term three of our school year. Slow but steady, we will finish up mid June and I’ll begin prepping for next school year in July and August! 📚

Here’s some of my random old and new tips + what I’ve been doing to help keep organized with the CMEC. 

01. Keep a regular day for nature outings or field trips. We have two days a week where I intentionally plan a hike or museum visit, etc. One is usually at the middle of the week and the other is at the end. It offers great variety to our weeks.

02. Notebook! I have had the girls consistently notebook this year, and it’s been such a delight to go back and see my form 1b student’s progress! I have a video coming out about how we notebook and why you should try it very soon! 

03. To stay on track with our morning timetable I’ve been writing the time we end each lesson in my logbook. It’s really changed how productive I am in making sure we get everything on our timetable done for the day. (I have a video on my logbook if you’re interested in learning more about that!)

04. And 05. Popsicle sticks! Friends, if you’re already a CMEC family, use these to help you choose which activities you review! I have on these for old singing games, French songs, folk dances or Swedish drill routines. I’ll share more on what I have on ours, specifically, but it’s fun because the girls and I get to be surprised rather than me choosing what we review!

06. Art instruction. Originally I had us doing three art lessons per week in the afternoon, but it didn’t allow for enough free choice, so we’ve reduced it down to one formal lesson a week for six weeks, then we change the method. So right now we are in week two of our chalkdrawing lessons. After six weeks we will switch to brush drawing instruction for the remainder of the term! As Charlotte Mason recommends, we draw from memory, model, and from imagination. 🌞

I hope this was helpful to you! So many of you guys are using @the.cmec next year! I am SO excited to see all of you at the online form meetings this coming year! 👏🏻 #thecmec #thecmecform1 #charlottemason
Do you keep your spices in a cabinet, on a shelf o Do you keep your spices in a cabinet, on a shelf or in a drawer? This drawer is right next to my stove and it’s my favorite way to store my spices! I reuse these little jars and fill them every couple of weeks with my bulk @azurestandard spices. 🧂
Are you planting a garden this year? What are you Are you planting a garden this year? What are you growing? Containers and raised beds? Or in ground? What do you plan to grow? Veggies? Flowers? We are doing a little bit of everything. 😍

It’s my third year growing food. (And ironically, our third house 😅) We just got our @greenstalkgarden planter, several @smartpots, and six raised beds that are ready to be filled next weekend. Really looking forward to this gardening season! 🥕🥬🥦🌽🌶🫑🫐🍓🥔
“Let then once get in touch with nature and a ha “Let then once get in touch with nature and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life.” -Charlotte Mason 

My kiddo had a birthday this past weekend. We do one main gift and a couple of small gifts; typically they’re  things they can use outdoors. Bikes have been a popular birthday item around here! My eldest wanted an apple tree last year. ☺️ But this year we got N a mud kitchen! Some friends of ours had one they built, and it inspired us. My kiddos have been playing on the forest floor in the mud for years now, but it’s exciting for them to have a little space in our garden for mud play. 🌳 What are some fun outdoorsy gifts you’ve purchased for your kids?
📚 When should I teach my child to read? How sho 📚 When should I teach my child to read? How should I teach my child to read? What does Charlotte Mason say about reading lessons? How did she teach children how to read? What curriculum do you use to teach your child how to read? 📚
These are all questions I answered in my blog post and video, “teaching reading the Charlotte Mason way” 📚 you can also swipe over to see some of my favorite CM quotes on teaching reading! 📚

I also shared what I do with my 3-year-old (which is very minimal) if you have younger children. You can view the post at the link in my profile! Are you up children school-aged? What do you use to teach reading?
I needed to accomplish a lot today. There was more I needed to accomplish a lot today. There was more unpacking and organizing to be done, pictures to be framed, meal planning to do, laundry that needed folding, bike rides to be had, meals to be prepared, sourdough to be prepped and lesson planning + pre-reading to do. Oh and dishes. So many dishes. 😅

I do essentially all of the inside housework aside from taking out the trash + recycle, but for a season my husband helped out while N was small by doing dinner dishes and sometimes even preparing dinner so I could nurse her after we ate. But as of late, I’m trying something new where I don’t ask my husband to clean up after dinner and instead I do it myself. I don’t mind it, and since my girls are old enough to get their own pj’s on now, I’ve been doing dinner clean-up (as well as lunch and breakfast clean-up and prep!) before I head upstairs to tuck them in, read them a story and sit with them while they fall asleep. Call me old fashioned, but I’m happy to do it, and I delight in my husband being able to enjoy some time with the girls after dinner instead of clean up a mess after a long day of working.

I’m not really sure where I’m going with this post - I’ve felt pulled in so many directions today and it’s something I feel often, (and I’m sure so many of you can relate) but after five months without a home to care for and nurture I simply can’t feel frustrated or annoyed at my list of 10,000 things I need to do. Instead I pray my way through each task. I sip tea in between. I light a candle and wear my great-grandmother’s apron as I work. I read notes like the one my six-year-old left for me this morning and I weep tears of gratitude and joy. Happy Sunday, my friends. ❤️ 
.
(swipe to read her note 🥰 + a transcription in the comments!)
Remember that word we heard so often when we were Remember that word we heard so often when we were parenting infants? Attachment.  What comes to mind? Breastfeeding on demand. Co-sleeping. Babywearing. All of those things that come pretty natural to us when taking care of a baby. But did you know that attachment doesn’t just end when your child gets bigger? Attachment is actually necessary THROUGH adolescence. 😳

Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Maté is a brilliant book that stopped me in my tracks. The book addresses the severe lack of attachment to parents that is incidentally replaced by an attachment to peers. I wrote all about it on my blog, but if you swipe over you can see a few passages that I underlined, highlighted, and wrote down in my notebook. 

Peer culture is more prevalent than ever. Not only because our society now prefers it that way, but because of social media’s ability to unite our youth in an unprecedented way. What we need is a shift in how we pass down culture to our kids from a horizontal attachment (peer to peer) back to a vertical attachment (family to child). I’ve often felt this long before I read this book, but we prioritize our Children’s friendships and relationships with others before we prioritize their relationships with us. We don’t value the family unit the way we used to decades ago, and it’s to the detriment of our children. 

I will gift this book to every new parent I meet from now on because of the wisdom the authors share. I wish all parents would read it so we could be on the same page as a society and those of us who choose to hold on to our kids wouldn’t be going against the grain. So this is my plea to you. If anything I’ve said piqued your interest, or struck a chord, please read Hold On To Your Kids! ✨

(For those of you who have read it! Share your thoughts with us! Help me convince everyone to read it! 👏🏻)
I promised I would share how I teach foreign langu I promised I would share how I teach foreign language the Mason way✨

When my oldest (now 6) was younger we loved and used @theculturedkid but since beginning formal lessons we’ve switched to this wonderful book by @cherrydalepress. 

Mason recommends that students learn 5-6 new French words a day and that they use them frequently. She writes in Home Education, “…children should learn French orally, by listening to and repeating French words and phrases; that they should begin so early that the difference of the accent does not strike them, but they repeat the French word all the same as if it were English, and use it freely…” (p. 80) she then writes about how important it is to employ the use of French vocabulary words during time out-of-doors. My kids and I have taken this to heart, because it isn’t uncommon for us all to be walking along the hiking trail, singing our French folk songs together. It’s something I’ll remember that we do together for many years. 

The Cherrydale Press program allows the child to learn common phrases, orally, a bit at a time. Along the way, they learn common verbs and vocabulary. 

Each “series” lasts about 2 weeks.
So here is the process we go through in that time:

01. We practice and memorize the English phrases. 
Here’s an example: 
I take the book.
I open the book.
I close the book.
So we say the phrases as we ACT THEM OUT, which is crucial to this method of learning French and retaining it! It’s helped me tremendously as a non-native speaker.

02. We then learn the French verbs from those phrases in French: je prends, j’ouvre, and je ferme. We memorize how to say them and act them out!

03. We learn the whole thing in French as we act it out. 
Je prends le livre.
j’ouvre le livre.
je ferme le livre.

After my daughter can say/act them without error, on her own, we move on to the next series!

Thanks to The Living Page, I keep a French notebook where I record the phrases or words we learn! (That’s what I shared in my stories the other day!)

In addition to this program, we have two French folk songs, one French vocabulary song per term (we sing daily) and a story we listen to in French, thanks to @the.cmec and their support!

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