S2E29: A Charlotte Mason Approach to Language Arts with Amy Snell

The New Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins

• Today’s guest is Amy Snell, a homeschooling mother of 5, as well as a speaker, teacher and encourager to fellow Charlotte Mason homeschoolers
• How did you first hear about Charlotte Mason?
• What do you think are the elements of language arts in a Charlotte Mason paradigm?
• What are some of the early steps in teaching language arts at home?
• What are some other tools we can use besides narration to strengthen a child’s composition skills?
• What are the differences between transcription and dictation and their purposes?
• How can parents implement these practices into their daily and weekly schedules?
• Ideas for helping students transition to written narration
• How would you approach teaching grammar?
• What is done for composition in the higher forms?
• Some encouragement for moms seeking to implement more Charlotte Mason methods in the language arts

Books and Links Mentioned:

Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason

First Grammar Lessons by Charlotte Mason

The Lively Art of Writing by Lucille Payne

Find Cindy and Amy:

Morning Time for Moms

Cindy’s Patreon Discipleship Group

Mere Motherhood Facebook Group

The Literary Life Podcast

Cindy’s Facebook

Cindy’s Instagram

Amy’s Instagram

Amy at CMEC

…in fact, Composition is not an adjunct but an integral part of their education in every subject. The exercise affords very great pleasure to children, perhaps we all like to tell what we know, and in proportion as their composition is entirely artless, it is in the same degree artistic and any child is apt to produce a style to be envied for its vigour and grace…

The response of the young students to such a scheme of study is very delightful. What they write has literary and sometimes poetic value, and the fact that they can write well is the least of the gains acquired. They can read, appreciating every turn of their author’s thought; and they can bring cultivated minds to bear on the problems of the hour and the guiding of the State; that is to say, their education bears at every point on the issues and interests of every day life, and they shew good progress in the art of becoming the magnanimous citizens of the future.

Charlotte Mason, Towards a Philosophy of Education, Vol. 6