CM 2 Episode #11 The Power of Notebooking to Transform Student’s Learning with guest Celeste Cruz

CM 2 Episode #11 The Power of Notebooking to Transform Student’s Learning with guest Celeste Cruz

Links and Resources:

Show Notes:

Description:Charlotte Mason included several notebooks in her curriculum. In this episode Julie interviews Celeste Cruz from Joyous Lessons. They discuss the different types notebooks, their purpose, and how they enhance learning. Wondering how to practically make a habit of keeping in your home, this is the episode for you! As a mom of 10 children and a devoted student of Charlotte Mason’s work, Celeste has a wealth of information to share.

Meet Celeste Cruz :

Celeste Cruz lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their ten children. She has a M.A. in English with a background in European Humanities and Art History, and has taught literature and writing in classroom and small group settings. She discovered Charlotte Mason before her children were born and has enthusiastically studied her philosophy ever since. Besides helping run a local Mason group, she shares the joys of home education at Joyous Lessons and @celeste_cruz, writes for Common Place Quarterly, collects notebooks @keepingcompanycm, and speaks at retreats nationwide. But her most humbling and rewarding experiences have come in learning alongside her own children at home and providing support for the families of the CMEC.

Joyous Lessons blog

Notebooking Supplies: http://joyouslessons.blogspot.com/p/products-we-love.html

Riverbend Press

Eric Sloan Books

Edward Tunis

The Living Page by Laurie Bestvater

Quote:

"The mind receives knowledge, not in order that it may know, but in order that it may grow" (Volume 6)

"It is only as we do that we learn to do, and become strong in the doing." (Volume 1)

"The teacher who allows his scholars the freedom of the city of books is at liberty to be their guide, philosopher and friend" (Volume 6)

Verse:

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God


Show Transcript:

CM EP Celeste Cruz Notebooking


Julie -

Welcome to the Charlotte Mason Show, a podcast dedicated to discussing Ms. Mason's philosophy, principles, and methods. It is our hope that each episode will leave you inspired and offer practical wisdom on how to provide this rich, living education in your modern homeschool. So pull up a chair, we're glad you're here.

Today's episode of the Charlotte Mason Show is brought to you by Medi-Share. Find out more about this affordable Christian alternative to traditional health insurance at medishare.com.

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Hello everyone! Welcome to the Charlotte Mason Show. I'm your host Julie Ross and today, I am very excited to have Celeste Cruse to talk about notebooking. Hi Celeste.

Celeste -

Hi, Julie.

Julie -

Thanks for joining us. So, Celeste lives in San Francisco with her husband and their ten children. She just had another one, so congratulations.

C -

Thank you.

J -

And, she has a MA in English with a background in European humanities and art history, and had taught literature and writing in classroom and small group settings. She discovered Charlotte Mason before her children were born and has enthusiastically studied her philosophy ever since. She runs a local Charlotte Mason group, and shares the joys of home education on her blog, Joyous Lessons. And on Instagram. And we'll share those at the end. You have to totally follow her and see these amazing pictures of what she's doing with her kiddos.

But that's kind of how I found her. She also writes for Common Place Quarterly and does some work with the Charlotte Mason Education Center. So I'll let you talk a little bit about that. The end too. But, you are just...I...am in awe of you with all that you do with all of your little people. It is very amazing and yes, so I found you on Instagram. I loved seeing the notebooks that your kids were doing. And I think as people get into the Charlotte Mason philosophy and they're like, okay, I'm getting rid of these workbooks and these tests, and what in the world do I do now? And how do I show anybody that we're doing stuff? And I get that question all the time. And then I look at these beautiful notebooks and I'm like, yeah, this is it. This is so much richer. And so, I'm so excited to have you talk about it, because I, too, feel like it can be slightly intimidating and a little nebulous at times, if you don't really know practically how to implement them into your home. And so, you do such a great job, so thank you for joining us today.

But before we get started, can you tell everyone a little bit more then, just about your family, and homeschooling and how you got started with Charlotte Mason?

C -

Yeah, sure. So, like you said, we are in Northern California. This is where I was born and raised. And my husband and I, right after we got married, I was in grad school and I was aiming for my Ph.D. in literature and was teaching at the time. And I really started to feel the call to start a family. And I just couldn't figure out how to mesh this life of academia with the kind of family life that we wanted to have. We really...I enjoyed the idea of having a lot of children, and I started to feel the pull that I would love to be able to stay home with them if that was possible.

And, this was over fifteen years ago now. I came upon the idea of homeschooling. And to me, this seemed like the perfect mesh of the things that I had wanted to do as a career and the things that I wanted to do in my home life of starting a family. I started looking into different philosophies, came upon Charlotte Mason, and like you said, this was before I had kids. And I found her to be so fascinating, I think primarily from the twenty principles. It was so interesting to see this education philosophy, laid out so clearly. And these, like, thought-provoking sentences. Just so simple. And yet, they had this kind of startling truth about them. Like, you know you can read like, children are born persons, and you think, yes. This is true. But like, what does that mean? Like for life? Like, it really is so thought-provoking, it takes you at...it really inspires more questions.

So that drew me right away. Immediately, I knew that that was what I wanted to do. And, so, over time, you know, fifteen years later, we have ten children later. Has been, you know, learning along the way. Still learning. Still growing, I hope. But our home is a very busy one. My husband works at home as well, and so we have a very bustling life, but I'm so happy to have come upon Charlotte Mason when I did. I love homeschooling. I love our big family. And having the opportunity to teach them in this way, so it has been a wonderful journey so far. And my two oldest now are starting high school next year. So, it's...I can't believe our family at this point... and then I'll have five other students and then I've got little boys who are four and two. And then the...our baby girl is three months old. So, that's where we're at right now, and it's a lot to manage, but I really feel like everything that I do in the Charlotte Mason community is so life-giving to me. I love working with the philosophy. I love thinking it out with other people. And so, all of that really is what keeps me sane I think.

J -

Well, it's funny, I feel like, for me too, like I get that little academia part of me, still. Because I'm still, like you said, always learning and growing. And there's...her philosophy is so rich and just studying it, and the books she recommends in filling a mind with those things. Like, I feel like I'm getting my little geeky nerd fill every month too.

C -

Yeah. Yeah. To be able to learn alongside the kids...I don't think that there's any other philosophy that allows us to, as parents, experience the breadth and balance of this whole education that Charlotte Mason invites us to. No other, you know, no other philosophy, I think, has it in that same way, of just, all the subjects, and the teacher learning right alongside, and us thinking of it as really a full life.

J -

Yes, and that is what has sustained me through, you know, these long years too, is that I am constantly learning and growing and not just...it's not stale. You know?

C -

Right? Right. It's always...there's always a new challenge.

J -

That wears me out. Alright, so let's talk about notebooking. Kinda, how did you get started in that? Did you just like, because you had started reading her philosophies before you had started homeschooling? Did you know, like, okay, when I start homeschooling, I'm gonna start incorporating this aspect, this whole feast, as well?

C -

Well, it was...you know, yes. When, having discovered Charlotte Mason early on, I knew that a nature journal was one of those essential Charlotte Mason-ish kind of things. And that was one of the elements that I found very attractive about the method. I think at that time I had this sort of ideal vision of us all sitting under the shady tree, in the wildflowers with our watercolors. And I was also really attracted to the idea of raising kind of renaissance men and women. You know, like there's this opportunity for this broad liberal education that wasn't just books. And it wasn't just focused on what modern culture says are the basics. The reading, writing, and math. But it also was well-grounded in the natural world, and then in the visual arts, so that kind of tactile experience of outdoors and knowledge of outdoor life, that I personally did not grow up with. And then I think, you know, has been lost to modern culture.

And then, also the facility with art and I think that that has been made this sort of niche elective in modern educational culture. Like, you know, for artsy people, you know, you take an art class, instead of seeing as this sort of set of skills, a way of seeing the world that can be learned, and it can be practicing and should be kind of a basic part of education. So I really liked the idea of both of those things. But, I personally was very intimidated by the idea of keeping one myself.

J -

Yes. That makes me so...feel so much better because I'm not the only one who felt that way.

C -

No, you know, it's like the idea of it is one thing and then actually doing it is another thing. I had never taken an art class before. I didn't know anything about nature, like I said. And I personally have always struggled with perfectionism and the fear of trying new things that I'm not totally sure that I'm gonna be successful at. So, the combination of these things were, I guess, my own personal hang-ups. But they were things that I didn't wanna pass along to my kids, either, right? I knew, like, I have these things that keep me from doing something that's potentially life-giving. I don't wanna pass that off. I wanna be modeling the right approach. I wanted to get over those things myself.

And so when my oldest two were in kindergarten is when I started keeping a nature journal. That was really my beginning point and I just told myself that I would make a weekly entry and try to get over any hurdles that I had to start. And I feel like that process was so life-changing for me. My life broadened. I began digging into new areas of knowledge. I had always been kind of focused on literature and this really opened up this whole new avenue of knowledge for me. And, you know, Mason says that the reason for that breadth in her curriculum is joy and living. Right? Like, we want to have all of these ways of experiencing joy, and the more relationships we forms and the wider range of subjects we form them in, the more joy is available to us. And so I really started to feel that through this keeping of the nature journal.

I also learned that nature journaling is less about art and more about, you know, which was part of what I was worried about with it. But it was more about learning to see and to see more, she says. Like see and see more and that's always stuck with me is that that was a lesson that I really learned myself through that process. I also learned, and I think this is so valuable when you have a lot of little children, the value of slowing down. The power of attention. How essential that is to forming relationships. I felt, in so many areas of my life at that time, and I still feel this way, that there isn't a lot of opportunities to slow down. But, you know, it's always another thing that comes up that you need to handle, with the small children. And, so that was something, it was something kind of permanent. It was something lasting. And it required me to slow down in the midst of what was a very busy time of life.

And those were all things that I learned firsthand. And I think that they were things that I learned were about much more than notebooks. So, for example, like, I was learning to be a better observer and that wasn't just of nature. That was of everything. A better observer of everything. I was, you know, being more contemplative. That wasn't just about nature, but about everything. So, I think when you see that these habits actually have a truth beyond the mere nature journal, and you actually feel that through your own experience, it becomes very motivating, and so that ended up, because, even though that was just my beginning point, I think it ended up really convincing me of the place that notebooks would have in the home. And the...you know, like the great potential that they have just to not just learn better, but to actually be better. Not just learn more effectively, but to be a different kind of person. And it sounds like an overstatement, but I think anyone who keeps one, you start to feel that yourself.

J -

Yeah. Wow. Everything you just said right there is just incredible. I love the fact that you started doing this habit for yourself first. And then seeing the changes in you, motivated you to wanna make this practice part of your home. And so I think parents can oftentimes get really intimidated like I have no idea where to start. There's so many different notebooks and I...all these different supplies. And we're not all artsy, and we're not even, you know. Start yourself.

C-

Right?

J -

And then, as you're motivated and you're changed, you know, your kids are gonna see that too. They're gonna be inspired. But it does, if, like you said, it affects so much of who you are as a person. It's not just this mushroom you drew on a piece of paper. Those observations...it does change you as a person...I mean, really, home educating my kids in this philosophy has changed me and made me a better person and a different person and once you start to see things, you don't, you can't stop. Like, now it's like everywhere I go, I'm like, oh, look at that, look at that flower, look at that! Like...

C -

Right? Right? It makes you see things, everything, in a different light and I think that it's the case with so many things in the philosophy. But I think notebooks...it's because of the tactlessness of them. It just plays a special role in our own experience as educators, to experience that, and then...I think that...this was a privilege for me, having come across it early, that I could get started before I had my kids get started. And not everyone can do that, and that's perfectly fine. But I think that it's so good to take on these things ourselves because, if you need motivation, for how to make it work with your children, the way you...in my opinion, it's like the way you learn that motivation, it's by doing it yourself. You become very convinced of how effective it is by doing it yourself. And that makes the whole process of trying to shepherd your children in that way so much easier.

J -

Oh, for sure. And I also love that you, the fact that you said if it's a habit it's a practice. And I think that's what, you know, all the different kinds of notebooks, right, but making it something that's a part of your normal rhythm of life, and otherwise it's very easy to just push that aside. Oh, we don't have time for that, or, you know, the dishes need done, or you know, this kind of thing. How do you make it an...I don't know if you mind if I go on this rabbit trail, but how do you make the keeping practice a habit in your life? Do you have a set time or, that you do those kind of things, or how does that work for you?

C -

I think it's, you know, it's a combination of things, and I think in each season, I have to sit down and think through. It's like at that time, I have...since the beginning, had a practice of Sunday keeping. And that has been one kind of constant in my life, si that on Sundays, I like to take time to sit down and work in notebooks. And I find it to be very restful and very, sort of this like purposeful time that, like, you know, learning. But also like that slowing down and paying attention. All of that really not only does it, do I feel it's you know kind of a spiritual practice in that way, but also, it just gets me on the right foot for the rest of the week. I just feel refreshed and prepared and all of that. So Sundays have always been some time that I try to set aside to do some work in my notebooks. But then I also, you know, try to work alongside my kids at different points of the week. You know, at various times, I've always kept a nature journal since that time. And...but working alongside my kids in my nature journal is not only very refreshing to me, but I like that sort of family culture that I built of us all working together.

And, you know, in the evenings I will pull out my journal. It's funny how the kids will then pull out theirs to remind or remembering something that they wanted to finish, because the time is set apart. So, part of it is time. And then, but then, I think with some of these practices that we do have to be intentional if we wanna build a habit that it can be good to set goals for ourselves in various ways. And I think as moms, we know what those are best for us individually. But I think, you know, telling myself, like one year I said, okay, I ??? am going to do a weekly entry in my nature journal all year. That's my goal for myself. And normally, it's like the product doesn't matter. You know, how many times did I do it, isn't the important thing. And yet, to be able to be able to build a habit, we do have to put those kinds of things in place at times. And so, I definitely find that helps me when I start a new notebook, to do things like that. So it's always kind of been a combination.

J -

Yeah, that's great. That's real practical for people. Talking...let's... start off with the nature journal then, since you kind of started with that yourself. And then I do feel like that is kind of the easy way to dip your toes into notebooking if you haven't before. Are there certain ways that you, or certain things, tools, that have helped you kind of grow in your skill of keeping it through the years?

C -

Yeah. You know, I think that when I think about nature journaling skills, I think there's a lot of different things at play. Right? There are kind of the mechanical skills of learning to draw, and that's like a separate thing from this habit that we're talking about, about habit of seeing. And those two things work together to create the nature journal that you do. Right? You draw in both of those things. So, I think with mechanical skill, that motor skill, that practice is really the thing that is... you know, you can't get around that, that's just how life goes.

I love how John Muir Laws calls it pencil miles, and I always think about that to myself, that you just gotta put in that time and those pencil miles.

J -

That's a great way to put it. Especially for our kids.

C -

Yeah. I know. And the kids are very, I think that they are motivated by that as well. And the joy of seeing your skills improve in an area that you care about is important for all of us. So I don't neglect the idea of thinking through building those mechanical skills. They are important and they help.

But then we also have the habit of seeing, which is improved also by practice. So I think that really takes time outdoors. So, in the way, like these aren't discreet things. They build on each other, they help each other. But, I think that a lot of times when we think about improving our nature journal skills that we're thinking about the drawing part of it. Yeah, and I think that it's both and that they go together.

And I have experienced that too, like, at the beginning, my notebooks, I started by copying pictures. And I really felt, you know, like, that was very motivating. It was easy for me to do in the midst of a busy family. But, I found that although that gave me a lot of confidence and starting to build those motor skills, getting better at nature journaling required me to spend more time outside. Right? More time looking closely. And it had to be both of those things.

So, I actually encouraged myself to write in my journal more than I was drawing. Make more entries, but just, like, simple observations. And I think through that process, my notebook, I started to see it, not just as a record, but an actual tool for learning. Like, the observations that were there were helping me to learn new things, discern new patterns, notice things that I wouldn't have otherwise noticed. So I think that there are things that we can do in both of those areas, like help, you know, working with our drawing skills. But then also making sure that that isn't the thing we're focusing on. That we are just spending that time outside.

J -

For sure. Yeah, so...everyone kind of has different takes on these. Do you draw when you're outside, or do you observe and then reflect inside?

C -

I have..I do both. And I have done...there was a long season where I only drew inside. That was when I was taking all the little kids with me for nature walks. And I ???

J -

I'm just trying to keep people from drowning in ???

C -

I had a baby on my back, I had the stroller and it felt like that was...if I had to haul everyone's stuff along as well, like, it just wasn't going to happen. It was one or the other. Like, it couldn't' be both. And we actually had a very nice routine, where we would go, we would observe, we would, like, orally narrate what we were seeing. I would take photos of things. We would get home. All of us would get out our notebooks. It was great. And that was a good way for us to get started.

Then, as the kids got a little older, and I was able to put together some light kits for us, and my kids were all able to bring them along themselves, and then we really enjoyed working outside and there is something about seeing the things in their natural situation, and drawing straight from there that is really exciting and that you do notice different things than you would otherwise notice. But you also, I found that we start to look more carefully. It's very easy to like, take a photo and then keep looking. You know, ???/

J -

Where's the next thing?

C -

Right, it's like, well you've like... okay, and we're done. And so, but this... that practice of working outdoors helped us to, you know, just spend more time with the specimen and looking more carefully. And then, I feel like now, we kind of do both. like we always take our stuff along with us on our weekly nature walk, but now we're journaling more. Like, we really try for, you know, daily, when we can, of different kinds of things. And some of those are just straight from our window, and you know, so that we're doing those inside. And, so, I feel like there's no real wrong way of doing this.

J -

Oh, for sure. Yeah.

C -

And it's, you know, and, but it's nice to try different things too. I think you're own experience of it will tell you what can be gained from you know, being... doing the inside or doing outside, and both have their different merits.

J -

So, you talked about making little kits for your kids. Could you share what's in those?

C -

Yeah. Yeah, and you know, we, I really pulled our kits from ??? recommendations, which are so nice for big a big family. I don't think he meant it that way, he just meant it to be, you know, portable and quick. But for us it worked so well because it's also very small. And so, each of the kids, I got them, like, a zipper pouch and then in it, they have their nature journal, which we really like the moleskin landscape watercolor journals that are kind of, I don't know, there must be like five by eight or something. So they're nice and small and compact. And they take brush drawing really well. And then we have the little paint sets. The Windsor Newton pocket sketch boxes. And I, the thing that I love about those is that they're so simple and they're so small, and just very easy to get out and use and put away. And we use those with the water brushes. The ones that you fill with water and then you just pull your paints using those. We love those, and I use those 100% of the time now, even indoors. Because it's so nice with toddlers around. I don't have any like, little cups of water or paint that I'm worried about my toddler spilling. And I could literally paint like, with a baby in the arms. Like it's that easy to use. It's so...

J -

Oh, that's great, that's great.

C -

Yeah. Each of my kids has those, and a little pouch, and they have like, some pencils and stuff as well that they bring, but those are like the three essentials that they bring along and everyone has their own and it's very handy.

J -

That's great, that, yeah, the key...everyone has their own. That's a mom movement in children, right there, cause like, otherwise, yes, the watercolors and mixing them. You mix my yellow and...yeah.

C -

Yeah. I even, we have a ??? We have them color-coded by colored tape. ??? Yeah. It works. Whatever you need to do, right?

J -

Now you mentioned John Muir Laws, do you have, do you recommend, like, his website or his videos or...

C -

Yeah, all of his stuff is so great. And I think anyone who's looked into nature journaling will see his name pop up. Because, you know, he's kind of everywhere. But he has a great enthusiasm but he also has a realistic quality to him in his approach. And, really gets people motivated to get out and like, see and see more and paint...spend that time, that focused attention. All of that is just so good. And then, where the drawing skills kind of come alongside with that.

J -

Yeah, I'll link to that in the show notes for people interested in getting started, and I'll link to these, the kind of things that you include in your kits too, cause that's super practical and helpful.




Today's episode is brought to you by A Gentle Feast. A Gentle Feast is a complete curriculum for grades one through twelve that is family-centered, inspired by Ms. Mason's programs and philosophy, and rooted in books, beauty, and Biblical truth. You can found out how smooth and easy days are closer than you think at AGentleFeast.com.




So, let's move on to another type of notebook. Which is the book of centuries ??? and they're like, what in the world does that mean? Most people are like, oh yeah, okay, I've seen that on Instagram. I kinda let them picture that in my head. They're like, the centuries, what?

C -

Yeah. Yeah. Well, and it's funny because, you know, the nature journal has a long history, and, you know, all sorts of people have kept it over so many eras and all of that. But the book of centuries was something unique to Charlotte Mason. She, there was a kind of century notebook that was used by some French educationalists, and then, you know, she had this particular grid set up for the students in her school, with the help of some of her colleagues. And it's a very interesting notebook, and it's interesting to me that she chose to, you know, pursue it. And have all the students keep it and she says in the programs that if students...I don't remember how it goes, but it's like, if students are not keeping the nature notebook and the century book, she called it, in the beginning, then it's not the complete program. So it's a very interesting thing that she would say, like, obviously she's attaching some importance to it. And this was starting at form two and up. So, like, a ten-year-old and up. So not for the younger kids.

But, this idea that she was putting that much in... that it was that essential for forming relationship with knowledge, it's very interesting. And, the book itself, is fairly straight forward, but also kind of strictly organized. It has two-page spreads for each century. And on one side, is a grid with lines of kind of five years each. Twenty lines going down the page. And the other side is blank, and the grid is, was meant to keep track of particular events and persons. And each block stood for a year. So, based on where you put it in that grid was what year you were assigning that date for, that thing to.

And the other side was for putting in illustrations for the history study and that was either from their readings, from models and books, from their trips to museums, and such. So there's this, you know, so you can imagine for each century, you would open it up and, on one side you have all of the dates, and you can read it, based on how you know that the chart is laid out. And on the other side it's kind of like a drawn museum for that century. So, you have artifacts that you would see during that century on the opposing page.

So, it's very neat notebook, and I think, you know I've thought, why she considered it so essential. What would the reasons be. And I think, you know, one, this nice grid really allows for a visual representation of dates. So, technically speaking, once you get in the habit of using this, you can look at a page and see what the dates are. Like, it's an interesting thing, you know, comparatively, to look at one thing before another, but also how much before. And like, oh, this is in the bottom corner, and so that means it's this date.

So, it's very, like, the visualness of it is very, it's kind of an interesting thing. And then also, even though it's this strict format, it allows for this element of individuality. Like now that I have multiple kids keeping the book of centuries, and obviously, I've examples from other families, and I keep my own, each one is so different. And so, it looks like there's this very strict grid that you would be using, and yet, it's really just this form for the student's ideas and connection to really be displayed. And some, all, each of my kid's books of centuries looks completely different one from the other. The things they choose to draw, the dates they choose to include, are all different. And so, it's like it has this efficiency to it, but it also is completely unique. Which was one of the things I think I really respect about it. And, I think, also, with Mason's way of studying history, where she has the different streams and then she also was cycling through several times, that this really allowed the student to bring order to his study of history. So he has this, you know, wide variety of reading, several periods at once, and he's coming back around to those same periods again. And the book of centuries really makes sense of all that for the student and kind of lets them record the things that they're learning as they go.

So, I see it's essentialness for that kind of comparative history that she was aiming at.

J -

Yeah, I found that too, that the extremely beneficial once my kids started getting all three streams in.

C -

Mmhmm. Yeah.

J -

But then, to be able to see the overlap too, between the British, what was happening in the British and American, or in the world, and, but then, with the ancient, kind of seeing, okay, I'm flipping way back here.

C -

Right. Right. Right.

J -

Yeah, this is not happening at the same time the American Revolutionary War, and the Greeks, they're not happening at the same time. Like...

C -

Right, right... yeah.

J -

And flipping back and forth really helps them with that. And I do like the fact that, where the drawings...at first, I kind of thought it was like a timeline. Like, I'm just gonna draw a cute little stick figure here, of an apple falling on Newton's head, you know? Like, that's...well, I'm supposed to put in this book, you know... ??? oh, it's like, oh, it's supposed to be like, what were people wearing? What...were they using? And what did their buildings look like? And so that really, when you start to flip through it, and see, kind of how people change, and you know, my son, he loves drawing. Like we'll work two tanks. And that was like the best page, right there, like... but... it's taking like... you know, my daughters didn't draw any World War Two tanks. They're taking...they're making it their own where, and they feel like, it can be very tempting to buy a neat little timeline thing, where all they're doing is cutting and pasting. They're not owning any of it. And then they're not gonna remember it as they will when they're deciding, like, just with narration, what's important, what's not important, what do I wanna... and you're like, like why'd you include that date? Like, or that... that's really random, but like, okay. I would have probably picked something else, but it's theirs.

C -

Right. Right. I, yeah, I think any time that you can pick up a notebook and immediately tell which of your kids it is, that is like a distinctive Mason feature of a notebook. Like all of her notebooks work that way and they do have this individual quality that a lot of products on the market don't offer. But there is, like, those would lead to just kind of one perfect product at the end of it. And they would all look the same. And that would be the goal of it, is that they would all eventually look the same. And I think hers are always have this element where the students connections are the things that matter, and his engagement with ideas is the things that matter.

J -

And that could be a little intimidating because, we as homeschool moms kind of sometimes really like it when everything looks neat and pretty, and we can snap a picture and be like, oh, look what we did today.

C -

Right. Right.

J -

And where it's like, giving that kind of freedom of like, oh, well, maybe they'll never learn that the Battle of Hastings was 1066 if they didn't write that down. But they chose to write down some other, like, thing that's, you know, well, oh gosh, we, maybe they, you know, we need to tell them what is important? And they should be writing it...you know, but, all of the philosophy, I love how it just all ties so much together. Right? And so, this is an extension of this whole philosophy that, you know, the children are born persons, and that they are making this their own.

But I think it does also hard too, because, you have to really have a habit again, going back to what we were talking about earlier, or it will not get done. Either, like, so how do you incorporate the book of centuries into what you guys do?

C -

Yeah, we...I think that whenever...well, first of all, the students don't necessarily just jump right into the book of centuries. Right? Like, that they have these other kinds of things they might be keeping like simpler century charts, or timelines of their own device. But they would be keeping beforehand, and so, that starts to develop the sense of, how to abstractly represent history on the page. Right? Like, you know, you have little lines or something that are the years, or the centuries, or whatever. So, those kinds of things are not immediately obvious to the student. They have to grow into that. And then, I think once they do get to...and they're starting to keep their book of centuries, I always sit down with the student, it's an...it becomes part of our lesson time. For a time while they're developing that habit. So at the end of the lesson, they, you know, after they've done their narration, then they have their book right there, and they're opening it, and signing what they would like to include. If there's something they wanna include from that particular reading.

We could all...it's also nice to use it as your recap. You know, how like at the beginning of a lesson, you'll say, okay, what did we talk about last time? And have them do sort of that mental work of connecting what they did before, and priming their mind to be ready for what they're going to be reading about. And I feel like the book of centuries is so nice for that, because they can open their book and look at what they included last week. And think about, okay, we're moving on from there now, and we're gonna talk about this and that and then launch into the reading.

So I feel like it, within, the lesson block, it can kind of play a role for that form two student. It's very useful. But, Mason, in the programs, has it scheduled for Sunday occupation and afternoon occupation, and so, I think like our goal would be that students are eventually working on it during those hours. So my approach to that has been that my older students, they don't do it...they don't usually have time in their lesson block to do their book of centuries, you know, now they're reading, they're doing their written narration or coming to me for their oral narration. And then, their...but they do have the habit of keeping track of things that they would like to include. And then going back to it, either in the afternoon, or on the weekends. And I do have the requirement that they need to do an entry once a week in their book of centuries. And so, I have that scheduled...I have it on their schedule on Fridays, so when they finish the week's readings, and they can think through whether the things or thing, that they would like to include from that week, and so sometimes it's just a bunch of different dates that we've gone through that week. Sometimes, it's gonna be a drawing of an artifact. And sometimes it's a combination of those two.

So, that is, I think, what is, you know, it's realistic, but also, I think, it does develop the habit of doing that on a regular basis without actually subscribe... prescribing what has to be put in. So that part is left, should always be, really, left up to the student. No matter what their age. But I think the habit of doing it is something that you can help them with.

J -

Yeah, and I love, it's been really neat, like, when you go back through that time period, you know? For them to be like, why did I put that there? Like, that's not really that important! Like... look at my drawing of such and such, you know like...

C -

Well it is, and you know, the students in form two, like, you would think, by four and five, like, they have a different perspective on the world. And the things that they thought were important enough to include are not always the things that they come back around and say... and would have chosen. But, I think that that lesson is such a good one. It brings up so many good conversations, of like, well, why would you say that? You know, why would you think that now you would pick something else, and what are you, you know, what are the reasons for that? So we've had so many good conversations in that vein. And even my own book of centuries, like, come back around to a period of thought, like, huh, I guess that's bad end. So it's always, you know, it's a neat, it's a neat conversation to have with your prior self. I guess.

J -

Yes. And I love the fact that they do keep it, that's, I think, the beauty of it. It's not like, okay we made it this year. It goes in a box in the garage, and I'm never gonna see it again. Like, no, I'm gonna keep going back and going, huh, well, and I'm like, interacting with it continually, throughout their schooling.

C -

Right. That is one unique feature of the book of centuries, that it sticks around and you know, like nature journals, and common place books, and all the other notebooks that we keep, you know, they eventually fill them up and then they get put aside, and we start a new one. And, but, the book of centuries idea is that they'll revisit it again and again, which is very interesting.

J -

Yes. Yes, that is neat. Alright, do you have a recommendation for a kind of tools or a book of centuries that you like to use?

C -

Yeah. We all have the book of centuries from River Bend Press. And they're so nice and definitely will last...

J -

Beautiful. Yes.

C -

Lifelong. And, but then I think it's also, you know it, you talked about how to build the habit in our students and I think one of the things that helps so much is to have accurate models for them to draw from. The dates that they need, and I don't mean, like, printing those off and pre-preparing them, but I have found over the years that so many of Mason's books had these things right in the book, which we don't always know because we use reprints a lot of the time. And if you actually look at the original copies that the students in her schools were using, they would have the dates in the sidebar, or at the beginning, you know, or at the beginning of a chapter. Exactly. They would have little drawings, like Arnold-Forster’s History of England is a great example, where there's drawings perfect for the book of centuries, throughout the book. And it has the dates at the beginning of every chapter, and all the important figures. So it's interesting to think that she thought students were using books like that. And then, you know, that does make things a lot easier for students, to be able to do that kind of work.

And then she also had various books that they would use for notebook work, just as references. And so I have enjoyed collecting those kinds of things, so like, you know, that Eric Sloan books. Or the Edward Tunis books. And some of these modern, you know, in print books that have such nice accurate models of artifacts for drawing, have been really fun to work with. And those are just, you know, besides the book of centuries itself, and those, you know, all that living material, that's really all they need, you know, to be able to get started on, in their work.

J -

Yes. And even, you know, modern tools like Google. Like, when did this happen? You know? We are very blessed to be able to have that or mind kids will Google, like, drawing of flapper dress, you know? And kind of copy it off there, you know? Like, that, if your book doesn't have those kind of things, too.

C -

Right. Right. Right.

J -

...have those, we're blessed.

C -

Yeah. Yeah. My kids keep lists of, like, anything that they can't find that they really would like to include, they just keep a list of it and at our weekly meeting, they'll, they have their list ready to ask me, we, I need a picture of this. And, so we'll go through and find that stuff for them to have their, have what they need to get started.

J -

Yeah, well that's great. That really breaks it down and, yeah, I think this, like you said, just making that kind of habit, and getting started with it, is, it really just, becomes such an enriching part of their education. It's so...now we're gonna move on to another type of book that you already mention, called the common place book. So what is that?

C -

Yeah. The common place book is probably the simplest kind of notebook that Mason assigned and...??? Yeah, it's great, it's great. It was nothing new. You know, readers, this is one of those just like the nature journal, where readers were keeping common place books all, you know, through time. And really, they're just collections of quotes from books that you've read. I mean, it's really that simple. Mason recommended them in, you know, specifically, for the upper forms. But it really is this kind of natural progression from copywork. So, you know, when possible, students should be choosing their own selections from their school books for their copy work and sometimes, she would say, you know, two lines from Shakespeare, but they would potentially pick those two lines. That kind of thing. And, you know, of course, those would go into some kind of notebook that they were using as students. And so that really is the beginning of using a common place book, although it wasn't called as such. But then in the later years, when the student isn't doing assigned penmanship anymore, they were supposed to be keeping a common place book for quotes that had particularly struck them, she says.

So, it really is something that, eventually, should, hopefully, become part of their leisure time. And in all in one, all in this simple notebook, it really becomes the student's penmanship practice, it helps them assimilate good writing, spelling, word choice, usage, all of those things. It also fills his mind with worthy thoughts. And really, makes the student a better reader, a slower reader, I have talked about that before. A more contemplative reader, you know, you, when you're, when you are having to copy passages from things that you've read, it really does slow you down and make you a more careful thinker. And makes you more attentive.

And I really, I have experienced this myself. I mean, I was very resistant at first. I have always been a very fast reader. And I was a real book gobbler for years and years, and you know, it is kind of, it's definitely counter-cultural. It's like, why can't we just cut and paste these quotes into a file, and that can be our common place book? And... right, right. It seems, kind of, you know, inefficient, to writ things out hand by hand, whole passages, but slowing down to actually write it out, it requires you to slow down your mind as well. And I found that letting myself sit with the words and the ideas behind them, even if I spend half the time writing now that I would have spent reading. So maybe I get do half the reading I used to do. But I'm doing it more deeply, and that time that I spend in actually writing is not wasted time at all, which is what I thought it would be. I'm making more connections, and I find I remember what I read so much better. I'm more invested in what I'm reading. I'm, like, living with the characters in a new way.

So, all of these things are, make this very simple notebook so effective for knowledge. It's kind of just amazing how some...like just a small habit can really change how you read altogether.

J -

So, I think, yeah, what you were saying about, you know, with the nature notebook, like starting it yourself. Especially if you have younger ones. They wouldn't be keeping a commonplace book. So, this should be a habit that you're starting and that, eventually, like you said, in the older forms, they're going to start keeping this for themselves as well. And, but, to grow your mind, and I love in the book, The Living Page, ...keeping the books with Charlotte Mason, she talks about, like, the art of contemplation and how this common placing habit is kind of like a spiritual practice, in a way, of slowing, like you were saying, slowing us down and making us think more. And I think we all need to be doing that, you know? But that this was something, you know, and it's funny, because I, until I got involved in Mason, I'd never heard the term common place book before. And then, I see it everywhere. Like, when you go to, like, museums, you're like, oh, well there's so and so's common place book. Like, it's just like, you know, they...we went to Dublin, and the university library there, which is just amazingly old books that nobody can touch, just...

C -

Oh, my goodness...

J -

...it was just like, AH! Like, in the middle of, like, this glass cabinet, was someone's common place book.

C -

Yeah. Yeah.

J -

Yeah.

C -

It has this long history and it's one of those things, again, that we feel like has just fallen out of modern usage, but could...has the potential to be such a special thing in our intellectual life. And so simple. You know, it's one of those things that all you, like, literally all you need is a notebook and a pen. And you're, you know, you're...

J -

And a book to read the quotes from, yes.

C -

And a book to read the quotes, yeah, it..I like to have, you know, I'm usually reading, like, with little ones around, and I don't...I know some people like to read with their notebook right next to them, and sort of pause and do that kind of thing, but I just put post it's at the, in the beginning of every book I'm reading. And just use those, and on my Sunday times, sit down and copy the ones that I want to into my common place. So it's just very simple, and straight forward, and I think that kids naturally...kids that have been doing copy work in a notebook, they like the idea of the common place, just because it is something that they get to pick. You know, they're...the quotes that they pick, I don't have any...I never really have any say over what they pick. Like, they, it's so interesting, the things that they decide to include. And I have one kid that picks the funny, you know, lines, from every Shakespeare play that we do. You know. And another one that's been like, working in the book Ben Hur for like two years. It's just funny, like, the things...you just never know what they'll pick. But that's part of that seeing into the student in a new way that these kinds of notebooks allow.

J -

Yes. And it, yeah, it does show them as a person and I think that will live beyond them, as we've seen from these common place books.

C -

I know right?

J -

...museums, it's kinda scary, but...

C -

Nothing like intimidation.

J -

But it does show you as a person because it does show the things that really matter to you, and you can go back through them and, for me, like to see, oh, I was going through this because I was in this space for like, all my quotes were about such and such.

C -

Right. Right. No, and, I have found that the common place really does allow me to make those kind of connection across books that I'm reading. But I wouldn't otherwise do, accept that I slowed down enough to write it in my common place that I remember it. Like, wait a minute, those lines are so similar to what I was just writing last week, where, as I think, if I wasn't reading with an eye toward working in my notebook afterward, that that would have just sort of passed me by. But here, it's like all these...you know, all these things just jump right out at you when you're reading.

J -

Which is what we want them to be doing in high school. For them to be making connections across the books that they're reading in literature. We have a tendency to focus on the opposite of that and let's analyze and dissect everything. But, when they're reading these great books and doing this common placing, like you're saying, those synthetic thinking, that happens naturally. I found, with students who have kind of grown with this method, and the common place book, really does, like you said, really help with that, so. That's great.

So, we've mentioned the nature journals, and the books of centuries, and the common placing. Are there any type of other notebooks that you use in your home that you wanna share with everyone?

C -

Well, we use a lot of different ones, and I think that, like you said before, like once you start with the habit, you begin to see all the different ways that a notebook can help you to learn. And I think that we have a tendency to think about written narration as like this great thing that students do once they get to a certain age, then it's like one a week. And then the next year, it's two a week, and I don't think that that's necessarily how Mason's school were seeing it. I think that they were using, based on the exam questions, and other things in the programs, it seems as if they were using notebooks, really, in all subjects, in very small ways. And, you know, students were working throughout the forms in almost every subject in notebooks. Like, the narration notebook, and so I think that what that really tells us is, Mason's acknowledgment that this is how people learn. So, that like, this is what educated people do. They wrestle with ideas by writing about them, or drawing them out. We outline to organize our thoughts. We record to make discoveries. To find patterns. Observing helps drawing, helps us to observe better, those kinds of things. And you know, there's that line from, I think it's ??? the PNEU, who they say, we narrate and then we know, right? Like, narration is the process of by which we know. And I think that seeing notebook work as just this form of narration, and what's happening alongside as an accompaniment, or in addition to oral narration, it really helps us to see notebooks more generally.

So, you know, we have narration notebooks, and some of my kids keep those by subject, and my little kids, just have a narration notebook in which they do little drawings...

J -

Yeah, mine too. Yeah.

C -

Or a line or they label something or whatever, you know, it's not a bunch of writing or anything. But it is a record or an opportunity to engage with ideas in a new way for them. We like, we really like keeping maps. We have a family calendar of firsts, which is like, just a super simple notebook of just noting things that you see for the first time outside. Every season, you know, so the first daffodil, or whatever, and keeping track of that as a family is so nice. My little ones have poetry that they keep their little copywork in.

So, all of the...it sounds like a lot, but really, it's just these simple habits. And then they kind of build out in natural ways, and I think that the posture of being a notebook worker really matters more than like the number of notebooks that we keep or which ones you keep...it's just that you start to have this realization that notebooks are this useful tool. And that is, you know, how education naturally works.

So, we've added things through time, but I really think that these three that we talked about are those kind of capstone, I guess, notebooks, that will really stick with the student for so long.

J -

Yeah. Yeah. And I love what you said about having their kind of narration notebook, but having it kind of evolve and change and making it their own. And we do something similar. We do, like, a weekly...I call it a weekly narration notebook. But, it's just, pick, with the little ones, but pick something from the week that we talked about, and let's record it and make it, you know, ours, and then we can look back and have it and it's just, you know. I always tell people, oh my God, you know, this is just kinda like my take on the whole thing. It's not, like, set in stone from above, but this is just how we've made it a process and a habit. Like, us, what works for you at all. That habit that keeping that habit. And making that writing and that narration and those wrestling with ideas that you talked about, just become a practice, because they're gonna keep doing that. And, that's a skill that they're gonna have for a very long time.

And, lastly, just to wrap up, so we've talked...there's several different notebooks. There's several different things to put in them. And I often hear from moms, like, how do I keep track of all these different notebooks with all these different kids? So, if anybody can answer that question, it's you.

C -

Well, you know, so, it's practically speaking, each of my kids has an area in which they keep all of their notebooks. And when we start a lesson block, they get their book and they get their accompanying notebook, and they bring them to me. And so everything is all ready to go. And, so each of my kids is responsible for keeping track of their own notebooks in their own spot. And like you said, my older kids have lots and lots of notebooks. YOu know, like, even like within science, they may choose to have...one of my kids wants a chemistry notebook versus their botany notebook versus their...you know, like, ??? Yeah, it's like some kids, they want to keep it in that way. And it matters to them, and that's great. So, I allow for a lot of flexibility in that way, and then, but then, my younger ones, I try to keep it manageable for them.

So they all start with a narration notebook that a lot of their narration...this is like in form one, where any written work that they might do or any drawn work that they might do, would be kept in that notebook. In addition to their copybook, which is for penmanship practice, and copy work, and such. And then their nature journal. So, they would have kind of like their narration notebook for everything else, and then their nature notebook and their copy book. And those three things are kind of like the essentials, I think, for my form one kids. But then, they kinda add as they go along from there, some of the form two, they get their book of centuries, and so, I think that to them it's, if you look at their shelf, it looks like a ton of notebooks. To them, it doesn't look like that. It looks like, well, this is the very obvious outgrowth of the subject, and that comes with that subject, like it's...I think because Mason has such a broad curriculum with so many different subjects, our kids grow into that over time. But it doesn't, you know, like they don't just jump in. Usually, at form four and they have, you know, fifteen notebooks, there's....it's not like that. It's something that they would always start small and grow from there.

So, I think that it's very fun to see my kids each develop their own ways of keeping their notebooks. And I, you know, if you look in each person's spot, it looks a little bit different. But, I think there's something so nice about them having ownership over it.

J -

Now is there a certain type of notebook that you use or really like? Do you use composition books or blank books or what do you use?

C -

We use... so, my... for most of our notebooks, like our narration notebooks and such, we use one of two things. River Bend Press just started selling their softcover, sewn bound notebooks, which are great. And those, the nice thing about those is that they really are meant, designed for Mason use, so like some of them have blank pages next to lined pages, which is so hard to find these days. I know I've looked, like, everywhere for those, and, so the kind of combinations are nice. So, they have a bunch of different ones there. But the other ones that we get that are available widely are the Fabriano Eco-Cloth notebooks.

J -

Okay, you're gonna have to send me that link.

C -

And the nice thing about those is they have blank lined, dot grid, and graph, and then they, but they're, they have them in two different sizes and all different combinations, so we've used those for years. For all of our things other than nature journals. And they've been great. And they hold up really well too.

J -

Yeah. Okay, that's great, yeah. I'll definitely link to that when you send it to us. So, to close, I always ask people if they have a favorite Charlotte Mason quote. Do you... and I know that's so hard to pick, but, would you have one you'd like to share with us.

C -

Well, okay, I'm going to...I mean, that's basically an impossible question. But, I have...I was going to say, since we've been talking about notebooks today, for me, what has really happened over the years, and you can probably say the same, is that, certain phrases or lines from Mason have become mantras to me to help me in my work. You know, things that come to mind every so often that remind me of what I'm trying to do. And, Mason had older students keep what she called a book of mottos. And I kind of think of, like, that for my own mothering life, is that these lines from Mason end up being kind of mottos for myself, and so I have kept a little motto book. And so, some of the things that go in are, you know, lines from Mason or the Parent's Review, but also by the Bible and poetry and such. These small lines that I can bring to mind and draw inspiration from.

So, for example, some of the ones that I have from Mason, are, the mind receives knowledge, not in order that it may know, but in order that it may grow. But that's something that I think about to myself.

J -

That's a good, good like wall quote.

C -

Right. Right, these are all like...cause you're succinctly saying it, what would it be? But...

J -

Put it, cross-stitch it on a pillow, or something.

C -

Right, Yeah. My husband would love that. That's like, redesign the house. He's like, really? It is only as we do that we learn to do and become strong in the doing. That's from Mason, Home Education. So like, there's all these very small ones that I really love. This idea of being guide philosopher and friend, I say that to myself a lot when a child comes to me with a problem that in my mind, I think, how can I be guide philosopher, friend. So there's certain things that really stick as mottos from Mason, and I have lots and lots of them that I love.

J -

I like that idea. That is really neat. Yeah, just like, okay, here's the things I'm gonna keep going back to.

C -

Yeah, it's really kind of like all my small favorites, I guess. That's one. I cheated, but.

J -

That's great. Alright, so, how can our listeners connect with all the amazing things that you are doing?

C -

Yeah, like you said, I...my blog, Joyous Lessons, is the place that I've been the longest. And, it's become a little sporadic lately, but, the outgrowth of that is on my Instagram account, which is, Celeste underscore Cruse (Celeste_Cruse). And then a couple years ago, I started another Instagram account, specifically for collecting examples of Charlotte Mason notebooks. I use to run a blog linkup, back when there were such things. And then I kind of transitioned it into an Instagram account. So that is called Keeping Company CM. And, you can tag Keeping Company CM, and I love to pull examples from other...I really just share examples from other families, and so it's nice to see all the variety...

J -

Yes.

C -

Yeah, from young kids, and lots of moms share their notebooks, and it's really a nice community and it's very inspiring to me personally to see so many examples from other families. And then, the place now, where I feel like most of my energy goes is the CMEC, which is, you can find us at the CMEC.org. But it is a, it stands for the Charlotte Mason Educational Center, and it is a nonprofit group of parents and teachers that are dedicated to putting Mason's principles into practice. It's been around for a few years, through the Mason Academy, but just a couple years ago they started, more widely offering it. And that is when I joined up.

So, I help run a mother's education course there, and do retreats and support materials for the families and really, really love the community and the curriculum.

J -

That's great. You're such a blessing to the Charlotte Mason community. You have such a great resources and I love your writing style and just the way that you make these kind of deep philosophical ideas fully practical. So, thank you for doing that.

And thank you for joining us today. I know this is gonna be such a big help to everyone, so. I appreciate your coming on, Celeste.

C -

Thank you so much for the invitation, Julie.




J -

Thank you for joining us today on the Charlotte Mason Show. I'm your host, Julie Ross, and I would love to meet you in person. All of the Great Homeschool Conventions have been rescheduled to 2021. Go to GreatHomeschoolConventions.com to find a convention near you.

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