Introducing “Wonder Weavings”: A Charlotte Mason Approach to Wonder
Welcome to A Mother’s Thinking Love: Living Ideas, Lovingly Shared! As a homeschool mom, I have struggled for years to balance completing curriculums and curiosity driven wonder. Over time, I have realized that, while wonder cannot be taught explicitly, it can be quenched. Enter: Wonder Weavings. Join me for: Introducing “Wonder Weavings”: A Charlotte Mason Approach to Wonder!
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Wonder Weavings: Why “Wonder”?
According to Merriam-Webster, wonder can be used as a noun, verb, and adjective:
- Wonder (noun)
- a cause of astonishment or admiration
- the quality of exciting amazed admiration
- rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one’s experience
- Wonder (verb)
- to be in a state of wonder
- to feel curiosity or doubt
- Wonder (adjective)
- exciting amazement or admiration
- effective or efficient far beyond anything previously known or anticipated
During my college courses for elementary education, I heard that, as teachers, we should be creating “life-long learners.” I completely agreed. When I became a classroom teacher, however, I realized that I had absolutely no idea what steps I needed to take to reach that desired end. While I won’t go into the details of my personal journey here, my conclusion was that our modern methods were not the way.
By the time students reached me in the 3rd grade, they had lost that sense of wonder already. There was just no time to encourage it with the looming clouds of state testing and government mandates. It broke my heart because in my own public school education, I had teachers who, with much effort and dedication on their parts, encouraged this sense of wonder in me. One thing I know: as long as a person, big or small, has a sense of wonder, they will continue to learn.
Wonder Weavings: Why “Weavings”?
While we don’t adhere to a set curriculum, I realize that, for a variety of reasons, many families do. I’m not here to tell you to throw out your curriculum and completely overhaul your homeschool by tomorrow. I’m simply advocating for devoting some time to wonder. Thus, “Wonder Weavings” was born. You can integrate my studies into what you are already doing. Over time, you might choose to breakaway from your curriculum or even decide to create wonder-based studies of your own for your family. Either way, you will be encouraging your children to become people who pursue learning for their entire lives.
What Will “Wonder Weavings” Include?
While all units will not be identical, there will be some commonalities throughout:
- Charlotte Mason Inspired- As a homeschool mom who has been amazingly inspired by Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education, these studies will carry the spirit of her methods. However, you do not have to know anything about Charlotte Mason to use these studies.
- Narrative-Style, Living Books- Simply Charlotte Mason defines living books as: “Living books are usually written by one person who has a passion for the subject and writes in conversational or narrative style. The books pull you into the subject and involve your emotions, so it’s easy to remember the events and facts. Living books make the subject ‘come alive.’ They can be contrasted to dry writing, like what is found in most encyclopedias or textbooks, which basically lists informational facts in summary form.” The studies could be completed by just using the living books, but I hope to include more components.
- Riches- In our homeschool, riches have grown our sense of wonder in profound ways. Riches include, but are not limited to, things such as art, music, architecture, and poetry.
- No Worksheets, Memorization Drills, or Tests- Instead of modern methods of measuring learning, Wonder Weavings will allow children to share what they have learned through methods like narration, notebooking, and journaling, which are methods that can be used for a lifetime of self-directed learning. Although, children may learn many things by heart through recitation.
- Spine, Literature, & Biography- I will try to find a spine to guide each study. You can learn more about spine books here from Simply Charlotte Mason. I also hope to include literature and biography selections for each study.
Examples of Wonder Weavings
These blog posts outline some of our studies from this year, although they are not available as Wonder Weavings studies. In these posts, you can get an idea of the types of book options I hope to include in future studies:
- Charlotte Mason Middle Ages Living Books for Middle School
- Charlotte Mason History: The American Revolution for Middle School
- Family Worship Guides: How We Use Them – We even try to encourage a sense of wonder in our Family Worship time!
Bonus!
If you don’t want to wait for my Wonder Weavings studies to be released, or you are inspired to create units of your own, I recommend the work of Sally Clarkson. She gave her children an education steeped in wonder, beauty, and truth. You will be blessed by any of her books, podcasts, or blog posts, but I recommend “Awaking Wonder: Opening Your Child’s Heart to the Beauty of Learning” especially for this task.
I hope you have found that “Introducing “Wonder Weavings”: A Charlotte Mason Approach to Wonder” inspires you to pursue wonder in your own homeschool. This pursuit has yielded a beautiful harvest in our home, and I know it will do the same in yours! Do you have the goal of raising children to learn for a lifetime? If so, share your thoughts in the comments below!
