CM 3 Episode #7  Scouting with Julie H. Ross and Brittney McGann

CM 3 Episode #7 Scouting with Julie H. Ross and Brittney McGann

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Show Notes:

Brittney McGann left her career as a high-end hairstylist to homeschool her children in 2011. Since then she has researched and written on Charlotte Mason education, hosted and presented at retreats, and leads two Charlotte Mason focused homeschool groups, including a family scouting group. Brittney wrote introductions to and facilitated the republication of sloyd books Paper Modelling, by M. Swannell and Cardboard Modelling, by William Heaton.

She and her husband are working to restore native trees and wildflowers to their 3.5 acres in North Carolina. Along with their three children, Brittney and her husband currently share their home with two guinea pigs, two rabbits, three guinea fowl, and a few dozen luna moth cocoons.

Show Transcript:

CM EP 7 Falll


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 back to the Charlotte Mason Show. I'm your host, Julie Ross, and I am here with my first return guest, Brittany McGann. You are my first return guest. You should feel very valued and honored by this privilege.

Brittany -

I do feel very honored, thank you for having me again, Julie.

J -

Yeah, no, I'm the one that's honored, so, yeah. Thanks for coming back on. I will link to the other episode that you did on paper sloyd. And you are just a woman who has multiple talents. So not only are you so kind to teach us all about paper sloyd, which was so intimidating to me, but now you're gonna teach us about another subject that is way super intimidating to me as well. So, I just wish you lived closer and you could do all these things that I'm really not good at.

But yeah, so today, we're going to be talking about scouting. And I was not a girl scout growing up. My kids were not in scouting. I love the idea of it. I took my kids camping one time, by myself. And that was quite the adventure. We still joke about our very exciting time with raccoons and I wish I would have had a scouting class or something. I'm excited to learn from you. I'm excited that...about this book that's coming out, because I think it'll help some people like me who are completely intimidated by this.

So, let's just start off with just a very basic, just, what is scouting?

B -

Okay, and so, scouting...I think the easiest way to think about it is kinda from, like, Western movies, you know? When, you know, there's the army and they send a scout, you know, up ahead, to track down the people that they're after, and try to get some information. And that's actually really what it came from. Charlotte Mason, she got a book that was by Robert Baden...it's pronounced "pole", I believe, but it looks like Powell. So, she got his book on scouting, and he was a military man. And so, the things in that book, they were written for other military men, and it was about how to do...track your enemy. How to get information about your enemy. How to do all these things related to war.

So, Mason took those skills and she kinda mixed them in with nature study and...because those are very important too, you know, when you're out in the wilderness, and you know, you're camping out and you're trying to stay hidden and also know what's going on around you. You need to know what's going on with the animals and with the seasons and with the weather. And so it's really just kind of combining survival skills, and ??? and teamwork, you know, cause they were working with their, you know, their teammates, who were the other people in the military with them. All well...you know, kinda working toward a common purpose. You know, in the case of the military, it's usually for their military campaigns. But for us, it's more for, like, you know, finding that animal that you've been trying to get a glimpse at. Or, you know, building your campsite together, or something along those lines.

J -

Yeah. So, that's really interesting. Yeah. I wish I would definitely have known that information so, just for anyone has never taken their kids camping before, my public service announcement for today is that, there's these animals called raccoons that really like trash and live in the great outdoors. So, if you're gonna take your kids camping, you should not leave your trash after you eat, right outside the door of your tent...

B -

Oh, no...

J -

Because, at nighttime raccoons kinda like to come find stuff, cause they're nocturnal and they make lots of noise and wake everyone up, and make a huge mess. So that was so fun. This would have definitely come in handy. And yeah. So, other than, for our modern camping and adventures, why did Charlotte Mason, back then, do you think, included this in her programs?

B -

Well, it intermixed with a lot of different subjects that were also included in her programs. So, geography would have been one. You know, you would have learned how to do...read a map. And how to use your compass. You know, and, to recognize landmarks and things like that. And so you can see if you kinda keep in mind those military campaigns. But it would be useful and very necessary to know how to do that. It also included nature study, you know. Nature lore. And keeping track of things in your nature journal, so you could have. You could add scouting things to your nature journal, or, you could even have sort of a separate scouting journal if you wanted to keep track of different things.

Also, handicrafts. Things like knot tying. You know, cause you need to know how to be skilled with your hands, at using a pocketknife. Those kinds of things. It all sort of crosses over and intermixes and I think it really kinda completes the Charlotte Mason programs in a really nice way, by sort of pulling together all these different skill sets. And making them really practical.

J -

Yeah, I mean, it's super fun, right? It's not like, okay, let's read about, in a book, how to find where North is, right? Like, it's like...

B -

Right.

J -

Actually outside. Here's how you actually use a real compass. And get from point A to point B, like, yeah, it's...and I just love that about just her whole programs overall, is just how hands-on they are, and I get this from people all the time. Like, my kid's a kinesthetic learner, so I don't think they could do Charlotte Mason education cause they read so much, and I'm like, what are you talking about? Like, we read a lot, but we're outside doing all kinds of stuff, you know?

B -

Yeah, you read so then you can do it. You can get out there.

J -

Yes. Yeah, so I totally agree with you. I think it's a super fun way to kind of bring in these different, really, practical skills. So, how did you get involved with this whole concept of scouting?

B -

Well, it was something that I saw really early on when I first was researching Charlotte Mason. I learned about how Mason got involved because of...it actually, like, Mason's involvement with Robert Baden Powel, that's kinda what got the whole boy scouts thing going. There's a neat story...

J -

Oh, I didn't know that. What?

B -

Yeah, his son actually was hiding in a tree. And I think he just kinda yelled out, like, I got you, when his dad was coming home. And his dad hadn't seen him. And so, the son, you know, was very proud of himself for being hidden from his dad so that, you know, had they been at war, he would have...

J -

What boy...I mean, this is such a great, but my son would totally do that.

B -

Oh yeah. it's so fun. So, you know, then his dad asked him, you know, how did you learn this because he hadn't taught him those skills. And it turns out that it was one of the young women, the governess, who had come from Charlotte Mason's school, upscale how. And so then he learned about how Mason had taken his book and put it in the programs. And then he actually wrote a book that was for boys. I believe it's called Scout for Boys. And so, so I read that. And I love it. I actually used it for the resource that we worked on together. But, so, I learned about all that early on. And I learned about that book by Robert Baden Powells, and I had it, like, In my Amazon wish list, you know, for a few years.

J -

Mine is quite lengthy, yeah.

B -

Oh yes. So, then, we moved about three years ago. We live in North Carolina and so we moved about an hour north of where we lived. And, you know, that's just far enough away not to see your friends as often as you're used to. So, I thought, you know, what can we do where I can, like, make friends for us. I can find friends for us. But, you know, that's something different, that's, you know, fun and interesting and, for me, accountability is a big thing. Like, I can get a lot more done if other people expect me to do it.

J -

Oh yeah.

B -

So, I thought, well, yeah. I thought this is a great time to learn scouting. And, you know, I didn't actually know very much about scouting. We did go camping when I was growing. And I knew some things, but...

J -

Like, not to put the trash outside your tent? You knew that already?

B -

Yeah, I did know that. But once I got going and started really researching it, you know, I just, I thought it would be great to get together with other families to do that, and put the word out, and we got some really wonderful families that are very good friends now. And so that, let's see, I think this is gonna be our third year starting, of our scouting group and so, you know, like I said, when other people are counting on me...

J -

That's so great. Yeah, I'm the same way. Like, if people are expecting something, I will do it. If there's something I wanna do, like, a couple years ago, I started, like, a book club for women, because, like, I'm like, I gotta read more. But I knew if I would...and tell people, we're gonna read this book, then it would force me to do it too. So that's so great that you saw a need in your family and something that you wanted to do, but weren't getting around to it. And then got the community to build around it. Can you tell us a little bit about, kinda how it's gone with that group?

B -

Oh, yeah, it's been awesome. So, we have...well, I mean, this is a coronavirus year, so things are a little different this year, but, in previous years, we have had about...I think we had like six or seven families, and so we end up, you know, and we're homeschoolers, so the families are on the larger side. So, we usually end with, like, between...about 35 kids at a lot of our events. And so, we do a lot of our things outside. I will give a lesson for about ten, fifteen minutes, you know, we're all kinda introduced to subject. I'll ask the kids some questions and find out what they already know. Go over some points that I want them to know, and then we do some activities together. So then, you know, then we do activities together, and then after our activities are done, the kids just play and have a great time. Yeah, so it's been great. You know, we love our friends and we love to do scouting together.

J -

Yeah, that's so great. Especially, I mean, you know, it allows you that social opportunity, but it's also in a structured way, and so you're giving that time, you know, that Charlotte Mason talks about, outside. You're also getting in some of this nature study, right? And some of these other subjects, but you're also getting that community aspect, which is really neat, to be able to do all that, in one activity kinda thing.

So, what benefits have you seen, then, for your kids from doing the scouting group?

B -

You know, I think that part of why I really love this scouting is because a lot of it is self-directed. And so, it encourages the kids not to just do, you know, what they're told, but to really be thinking for themselves. And looking at things for themselves. And to be motivated to do more, and to go further, on their own. So, I think it really builds up their confidence. It helps them to know that they can do things, you know, that they don't have to, like, depend on me all the time for things. I think it makes them more willing to take risks and put themselves out there and try different things.

And I think it helps...yeah, it helps them to be prepared, too, you know, because a lot of it is preparedness. You know, kinda the main idea of scouting is to be ready to help when your help is needed. And so, in order to do that, you really need to be paying attention to the world around you, looking for opportunities that you can use, you know, either to help someone or to prevent something from happening that shouldn't happen. Or, just notice what's out there.

And so, I just really do think that it helps them to think outside of themselves and not to be so inwardly focused as, you know, at a certain, everyone kinda... to go that way.

J -

Oh yeah.

B -

And it helps, you know, give that focus back out on other people, you know, and nature, ideas, learning new things, just away from themselves.

J -

Yeah. That's great. Now, in Charlotte Mason's time, you know, like you...the story you shared with us. There would have been a governess, and they would have taught it, you know, probably, like you were saying, mostly to boys. But, the way you have your program structured, the families come and do it all together. Is that correct?

B -

That is correct. And actually, in Mason's time, she did encourage this to be taught to the girls as well.

J -

Oh, she did? Oh, okay...

B -

So...yeah...

J -

It just that Scouting for Boys was the title of the book.

B -

Right...

J -

It wasn't just for boys, okay, okay.

B -

It wasn't just for boys, though. And yeah, in... there is a document in the programs, or not the programs, or, not the programs, in, you know, the archives, that talks about the way they wanted things set up, you know, in Mason's time, and, it's almost like, almost like the boy scouts that we think of now where they have troops, you know, and the different troops have, you know, their names and you can earn...they didn't have badges or patches. They actually had tassels, so you would, you know...

J -

Very military-like. Yeah.

B -

Yeah, yeah. But yeah, so she did encourage it to be, you know, boys and girls, and really, that these skills are useful for everyone. Not just military men and not just the boys.

J -

Yeah. Good. Well, I'm glad we distinguished that. But the way your program meets, the whole family does it together, so it's like, multiple ages with their parents as well.

B -

Yeah. Yeah, like, I looked at, you know, boy scouts and girl scouts, and I was a girl scout when I was growing up, but we didn't do cool stuff, you know. You know, it was...

J -

But, you sold cookies. And that's really all that matters. Cause those are good.

B -

We learned a couple skills. Thin mints. Yes.

J -

Oh, girl. Yes.

B -

But, yeah, so I didn't...you know, I mean, we're a homeschool family, we are together all the time, and I don't really like driving to lots of different places, you know? So I felt like...

J -

Oh, my gosh, yes. I am the same way. That's why I never did it for my kids. I so wanted them to do it...

B -

Yeah.

J -

But I didn't grow up with that. You know, I was the 80's generation MTV kid that just sat in front of the TV. And I was like, I don't want this for my children. I want something different, but I have five. I can't run this kid to this one age thing this day and this another thing at this day, I'm like, AH! So, we just never got involved, but that's why I love how you structured...your book is just that families can do it together. So, what to do you think the benefits are of doing it as a family as opposed to these separate kind of group things?

B -

Well, I think it encourages the kids to think of themselves you know, like, as a family, and as a team. So, the older kids help the younger kids. And you know, this, it's within our family, but also the other families gather together. I really feel like it just helps the children to, you know, learn to put up with what some of the younger kids might be doing. And it also encourages the younger kids to try a little harder, you know, not to yell when you see a bird. To, instead, quietly, you know, whisper that you've seen something.

J -

SQUIRREL! Yeah.

B -

Yeah. Exactly. Yeah, so I just think it kind of helps with just, you know, those relationships that we are always trying to build and encourage. And again, you know, for the mom, like a lot of us don't know these things. I learned all this stuff as I was teaching it. So, I just learning together, doing things together, just really encourages that, like, family camaraderie. And, you know, love for each other.

J -

Yeah. Great. So can you give me an example of one of them, kind of activities that you have been doing with your group?

B -

Yeah, so one of the easier activities...well, it starts with observation. So, we go through several different activities that help us to use our senses better. Like, to be, to notice, you know, what we see and what we hear...

J -

She talks about it all the time, right? Yeah.

B -

Yeah.

J -

...of the observation, right.

B -

Yeah. So, one of the ones that I think is fun that I haven't really seen around a lot is learning to observe...it reminds me of, like, Sherlock Holmes, or... have you seen that show?

J -

Oh, yeah.

B -

Psyche, you know, where you learn to make observations by the people, like, you know, how they're dressed. You know, what you can notice based on their shoes, you know. Is there mud on their shoes? Do they have a suntan in the wintertime? Why would they be tan in the winter? Just some of those observations. So first you notice it. And then you need to make some deductions. And so, you know, we have some fun activities where they can make some observations about each other. And then, see what they can figure out based on what they see.

J -

Okay. That sounds pretty easy.

B -

Yeah, it is. It's fun. It's fun because it's easy, but it is also a challenge. So, for example, one of the activities that we do related to that. Oh gosh, I forget what I call it. But, oh, it's called, what's changed? So, you have the kids line up, depending on the size of your group, you could have...or your family, you could have as few, as maybe like, two people, or as many as like, five or six. And so, one person would be the observer and they would have a look at the group of people. Notice everything that they could notice. And then they'd turn around, and then that group, they would change things around a bit. So they might, you know, change their jackets. Or they might change their jewelry. Or, you know, take their shoes off, or put a hat on, or do something to change the way that they look, and then it's up to the observer to try to pick out all the changes.

So our group got really creative with that and, you know, not only did they change, you know, some of the things they were wearing, they changed, like, their positions. They would stand in different ways, and they have a lot of fun with it.

J -

Yeah. So, then, taking that, I guess that's like an introductory lesson, right? And how does that, what other skills are included? Like, how would that build on something else?

B -

Well, first you learn to just be paying attention. And then once you're paying attention, you can go out into the world and use those skills to do things. We go through tracking. So with tracking, it's not just the foot...you know, the footprints or the paw prints that you're noticing. It actually includes a lot of other things. So, instead of just, you know, keeping your eyes focused on the ground, looking for a print, you would look up and you might notice that, you know, there's grass bent in a certain area. Or that there are leaves that have gnawed and ripped and what kind of animal makes those type of bite marks? You might notice scat sitting nearby and have to, not only notice the particular scat, but the type that it is, to give you those clues as to what kinds of animals have been, you know, this direction. And then, you know, what direction are they going? You can tell, you know, based on the footprints. How many are they? Or the tracks. How many are there? You know, what potentially are the ages, like, you know, what are the sizes? Do you see deer tracks that are from a large deer, and then you see some little tiny ones, you know, what does that tell you? It's a mother and fawn. You can tell if they're running or if they're just walking. You can tell if they were grazing.

So there are a lot of these things that, once you first learn to notice, then you can figure out, you know, what it means. Like, what is the story that's being told? Based on the things that you're observing?




Julie -

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 find out how smooth and easy days are closer than you think at AGentleFeast.com.



So what are the different type of skills then, that scouting would teach a child?

B -

There's really a huge range of skills. So, as I said, we begin with the observational skills. It goes into some survival type skills like how to build a shelter, but not just how to build it, but where would you wanna put that. And why? You know, you don't wanna build your shelter next to a place where there might be a flash flood.

J -

Or trash! Don't put it...

B -

Or trash! Yes. Or raccoon den.

J -

Or an ant pile, right?

B -

Hey, exactly. Or poison ivy, you know. Yes, so those are the kinds of things like, if you don't know if you're, you know, a regular suburbanite, you just don't know about those things. You can get yourself into some trouble so, yeah. And then, too, you know, like I said, mapping skills and, you know, learning direction, because you...I mean, you don't know if you might ever get lost, or, you know, if you're out hiking and you see clouds coming up, you know, through the course, you know, we learn about clouds and different weather patterns and what that means. So, you know, if your scout has learned those things, and you're out hiking and you know that it's an hour for you to get back, and you see that it looks like it's gonna rain, you're gonna start going back, because you don't wanna be caught out in that storm.

Yeah, so it's a really wide variety. We also cover, you know, stars, learning direction, you know, based on the North Star, as well as, you know, just tracking the stars and seeing the different constellations and what those meant to different people at different times. So it's really a wide variety of different things.

J -

Yeah, so that's where you can bring in some, you know, science and history and everything too.

B -

Right, yeah.

J -

Yeah. Neat. And in addition to these skills, I would imagine scouting also really helps...you talked about a lot about citizenship, you know, especially in the early volumes that came up on the heels of World War I, and you talked a little bit about how scouting is kind of related to the military but how does our modern scouting help shape a child's character and build this concept of citizenship.

B -

Well, as I said, you know, it makes them aware of what's going on around them. And I think that you can't make yourself useful if you don't know what's going on around you. So, you know, the boy scout motto, which it's included in Robert Baden Powell's book as well, is to be prepared. And so, you want to be prepared to offer assistance in any way that is needed. In his book, he goes over a whole bunch of different scenarios and you know, he covers some different books and to kinda give inspiration to the boy or the girl who would be interested in knowing, you know, how does this actually help? And so, I think you know, even something...and you know, and some of this, it sounds kind of dark, but you really never know. You know, if some kind of a crime is committed, but you know, the child happened to notice, you know, that there was a person who was unusual in the neighborhood at that time. Or they saw a car that was unusual. Those kinds of clues can actually be really helpful to give to the police officers.

You know, even like we were talking about, you know, for where you're gonna set up your campsite. If you know what poison ivy looks like, and you have notices that, you can warn people and say, hey, that area is covered in poison ivy, you don't wanna set your tent up over there.

J -

Yeah.

B -

You know, even things like, you know, if you see, like, I remember one time, I was walking past one of our museums downtown and there was an older man who came out an exit and he had a walker and he was at the top of stairs. So, you know...

J -

Oh, wow.

B -

...kids, and then I went to help him down the stairs because I didn't know how he was gonna get down.

J -

Yeah.

B -

You know, but, we wanna encourage the children to do these things as well to just notice, like, oh, there's a person who could maybe use my help.

J -

Yeah.

B -

I'm gonna help them. Or, you know, I noticed this thing that seemed unusual and, you know, maybe that would be important. So, yeah, it's just, you know, being prepared for any possible event. I think the more that you know and the wider your skillset, the more likely you are to have the skills that will be needed to help.

J -

Yeah. And for sure, I think, also, too, like, doing it as a family, you know, that they're...the older kids can help the younger kids in building that kind of good family vibes. That you have to accomplish a task together and work together to make this campfire actually work, you know. It really does help build, you know, kinda that, those family bonds. Yeah, I think that's just one of the great benefits of doing something like this together as a family.

Now, if someone was wanting to get started with this, and they are like me, who are kinda clueless, what would you say to them to help get started in figuring out how they can use scouting in their home.

B -

Well, for starters, I would suggest that they get my book that you guys are publishing, which I am so excited about that.

J -

Me too!

B -

Yeah. You know, I tried to lay it out in such a way that it would be really easy for people to figure out, you know, with minimal research ahead of time, cause when I got started on this, it's very doable if you are motivated and interested. But, it's a lot of work, you know. It was a lot of research, like, for...

J -

Yeah, that...

B -

You know, yeah, like learning how to use a compass. I didn't actually know how to use... I didn't know that there's a difference between true north and magnetic north, you know?

J -

Oh yeah. No clue.

B -

...I didn't know. I mean, I pretty much, I knew, you know, that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. And that's about as far... I didn't know...

J -

Me too.

B -

...that it moves across the horizon, you know, as we go through the seasons. So, I mean, there are a lot of...there are just a lot of things I had to learn. And so, I think if you just go, you know, with one thing at a time, you know, if you were to try to do this on your own, I would say pick, you know, one thing that really interests you, and research that thing. And try to find other resources that will help you. I did, like I said, I did, I use Baden Powell's book. And that was really helpful. But I did have to, you know, really read through it. It's not set up for lessons, you know?

J -

Yeah.

B -

It's more of, like a, you know, research it and pull out what you can.

J -

Yeah.

B -

So, there are some great things out there. And I mean, even, you know, the old boy scout books. Those were cool. But, to add in the Charlotte Mason, you know...

J -

Yeah.

B -

...philosophy into it. I did have to really kinda work at that. And so, I'm hopeful to be able to share, you know, what I learned, and my research with other people to make it easy for them so they...just you know, open and go.

J -

Yeah, well that's one of the things I really loved about your book, Scouting for Wild Ones, that, yeah, like, I could understand it. So if I can understand it, anybody can understand it. And, yeah, you can just open it and go, okay, here's what we're doing. And it kinda follows the same, a similar format. Like, each lesson, so that. I really like that. That helps me. I'm a big routine person, and so I like knowing what's coming, what we're gonna do, and I think you know, kids really appreciate that as well.

But what if you don't live anywhere where you have other families that might wanna join you, what would you say?

B -

I think it can be done in just a family. I think I duly, you know, if you have like, at least two kids and you know, mom and dad are both involved, for some of the activities. Cause some of the activities are just more fun when you have a few more people. But, what, you know, the skills you can definitely learn just on your own. Just like, you know, one mom, one child, you can definitely learn these things. You're just not gonna be able to do all of the activities that I have put in there to reinforce it. You know, but you could probably still come up with, you know, scaled-down versions or even doing some of the challenge activities. Because after the lesson that you would do as a group, I put in some additional challenge activities to encourage the children to do more and to learn, you know, more on their own. And so some of those might be more easily replaced if you have a smaller family.

J -

So, this challenge activity would be something they would do after, like, the group lesson. Like at home. Like between...

B -

Right.

J -

...or something. Okay, okay.

B -

Yeah. To like, reinforce those skills.

J -

Yeah. And, I mean, nowadays, I mean, there's just so many more homeschool people too, so you might just wanna put it on Facebook, or put something in your neighborhood sign thing, you know, you might be surprised that there are actually people who would be willing, or interested, in doing this as well, even if you don't know anyone right now. Yeah, cause that's kinda what you did, right? I mean, you just kinda had to move somewhere new and find people, yeah.

B -

Yeah, I did kinda put it out there and, you know, got a couple of people randomly, but then I also...like, through, you know, the areas of where I put it up, but then, I also had, like, friends of friends, so we would have someone, you know, new that I would meet and she'd say, oh, I think my friend would really like to do this. Can I invite them? You know, another thing I like, too, with scouting in particular, I mean, you know, I have one Charlotte Mason group where everyone is exclusively Charlotte Mason. But in our scouting group, we're not. It's probably, I don't know, maybe 60/40 for Charlotte Mason, and then other. And so it works really well with families who are doing other things, so I mean, as long as, you know, the kids know that they really need to listen...

J -

Right, yeah.

B -

...to me, for, you know, the sake of, like, danger.

J -

Yeah.

B -

You know, as long as there's that understanding, like, really, it can be done with any philosophy. Any school philosophy.

J -

Yes. I'm glad you brought up that point. I think that's really key, because, like, this is universal human being skills. Like, even if you're not homeschooling, right? Even if your kids are in school, like, just scouting, being able to, you know, find your way outside, be able to read the signs in nature, like, those are just important life skills, and you can do that as a family, you know, at night. Or on the weekends. It doesn't have to be during a school daytime. So this is something for all children, no matter what educational philosophy you use, or where your kids go to school or anything like that. You can incorporate this scouting into your family dynamic, which I think is really cool, that it is so universal.

B -

And I think too, you know, especially if you do have your kids in more of a traditional school setting and you know, at certain ages kids do just kind of grow apart. They wanna do their own things, they have their own friends, and so this would be something that could really help bring the family together. And again, get that sense of, you know, like, family and teamwork and caring about each other. Helping each other. You know, especially if its a family that really loves the outdoors. This just gives you a good focus for some things to do all together.

J -

Now, if there are certain ages that you would recommend for? Or is it just everybody?

B -

For my group, I typically say that the oldest child has to be about seven. And it goes, like, you know, up from there, I think. Even adults learn a lot from this. We do have some younger kids, you know, that hang out. But what we've noticed is, like, the kids who are kind of, you know, the youngest or the second youngest, those children are really used to doing what older siblings do, and so they have an easy time of just kinda following along and, you know, listening and paying attention. And they're not able to do it at quite the level of the older kids, but they really try their hardest and they're not a distraction. But, you know, we also tried having some of the real little kids, before we made that, like, seven start, you know, rule. And so, now, we don't allow families to join our group, who have a lot of little kids. Just because they can't really follow the directions. And then it becomes a distraction to the older kids.

Now, if you have...if your whole group is a bunch of little kids, you could modify it. And they wouldn't be distracting each other, but the focus of our group, we have kids, like, my youngest is seven, and my oldest is twelve. And that's pretty much where the age range is for the kids in our group. So, you know, they're, like, we don't wanna hold them back, and so they're at a level where they're for, you know, bigger challenges and they can handle doing a little bit harder things.

J -

Yeah. Yeah. I think, yeah, I think that's really wise of, you know, that, you know, you might have some younger siblings tagging along, but you do want most of the participants to be up that elementary age level at least.

B -

Yeah.

J -

For sure. Yeah. Especially cause some of these things can be, like you said, they can be a little dangerous, like...

B -

Exactly.

J -

You're outside in the wild, so...

B -

Yes.

J -

We gotta keep everybody safe here, so. Yeah, so do you have any closing thoughts or about scouting or about doing it or about your book or about what Charlotte Mason had to say about it?

B -

You know, I just hope that through this resource, that more people will be encouraged to try it. I know, you know, with a lot of the Charlotte Mason activities, they seem like they'd be great, you know, and so cool, but then once you really get into it, it's just... overwhelming. And then there are so many things that seem so overwhelming. And so, I just really hope that this will make it more accessible to people to be able to do scouting. And I hope that there will be, you know, scouting groups just popping up all over and, you know, our kids will learn these great skills and really have a fun time as they're learning them together.

J -

Yeah, for sure. I definitely think, you know, your book accomplished that, because, like I said, it was easy for me to understand, and I could totally see myself, just like, opening it and doing it. And I agree with you, yeah, there's lots of different amazing things in Charlotte Mason's programs, but, like, sometimes when you go to actually do them, you're like, uh, I... I'm not gonna understand this. And, like, solfa, I'm like, what?

B -

Yeah.

J -

You know? I'm like, well, I'm very lucky that my...two of my kids are in choir, and they teach it, and I'm like...but you know, there's different things that it's just, like, I can't do everything, right? But, I agree with you that, you know, scouting is something that...I like the fact that we can do it all together, and we can do it, like, at night, or on the weekends, if it doesn't have to be taking up more chunk of a school day that can already kinda seem overwhelming. But, you know, making that priority of, my values are, we do things together as a family, and that we spend a lot of time outside. And so, I'd rather do something like this than all of us be going to fifty-five different other activities with our scouting or soccer, or like, you know, all the great things, but, you know, that, I wanted something that we could all do together. And that, you know, related to the outdoors as well. So, I think this is just a perfect resource. And yeah, I hope there are all these, like fun little scouting groups and...I can't wait to hear how everyone implements it and enjoys it with their family and what skills they learn and, you know, maybe more people will be encouraged to go out and go camping, and not put their tent right next to the trash. Their kids won't be traumatized like mine, and they never wanna go do it ever again, so.

B -

Oh no.

J -

Well, thank you so much. This has been so helpful.

B -

Thank you, Julie, I'm happy to talk to you.

J -

...all this research and making it super practical for everybody, because, like you said, I don't got time to do that.

B -

Yeah.

J -

Thankfully, you were inspired to do it.

B -

I was, yeah, and I really do hope that you know, other people are inspired too, once they, you know, see the book and hear this podcast. I hope that other people will give it a shot and see what awesome things can come from learning these scouting skills.

J -

Alright. And so, if people want to connect with you and tell you how much fun they're having scouting with their kids, how can they do that?

B -

They can get me on Instagram. So, I'm at Brittany McGann. At Brittany McGann on Instagram. That's the main way that I am in contact with people now. I think you put it on my last one. You know, some of my other articles and things like that, those are on Charlotte Mason Poetry, but yeah, if they wanna talk to me directly, I would love to hear from them. Or, you know, maybe we can get a hashtag going...the scouting book gets out there.

J -

That would be so cool.

B -

We can see what everyone's up to.

J -

Yeah. And that would be so fun. I love Instagram too, so. Alright, well thanks Brittany, I appreciate it.

B -

Thanks, Julie, good to talk to you.




J -

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



But you don't have to wait until 2021 to experience the amazing speakers and vendors at The Great Homeschool Conventions. They now offer an online convention that you can find on GreatHomeschoolConventions.com.



Also, if you would like the show notes for today's episode, go to homeschooling.mom. If you would take a moment to subscribe to this podcast in iTunes and leave a review, I would greatly appreciate it. It helps to get the word out about this podcast to our audience.



Thanks for joining me today. Until next time, may your home be filled with books, beauty, and Biblical truth.


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