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Copyright Deborah Taylor-Hough. Used with permission. All rights reserved. http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com
Since we’re currently in the midst of the December holidays, I chatted at length with Catherine Levison (author of A Charlotte Mason Education and More Charlotte Mason Education) and we put our heads together to come up with ways to apply the concept of avoiding “twaddle” (or what modern parents might call “dumbed down” literature or activities) in our holiday celebrations, family times and Christmas reading materials.
Defining Twaddle in Literature
First, let’s look at the synonyms of twaddle which include: babble, drivel and silly. Ordinarily twaddle refers to literature written down to children. Books written specifically to children are not avoided. A good example would be any of Beatrix Potter’s works — she wrote to children but not down to them. Or the original A.A. Milne “Winnie-the-Pooh” books are another good example of twaddle-free just-for-fun reading material.
Regarding children’s literature, look for interesting content and well constructed sentences clothed in literary language. The imagination should be warmed and the book should hold the interest of the child. Life’s too short to spend time with books that bore us.
If our children have only been exposed to junk food, they may resist trying nutritious food. If they’ve been raised on twaddle, they may need to be weaned slowly off of this mental junk food. Ideally, if they were not exposed to twaddly books in the first place, all involved would be way ahead of the game.
It’s our opinion that dumbed-down literature is easy to spot. When you’re standing in the library and pick up modern-day, elementary-level books, you’re apt to see short sentences with very little effort applied to artistically constructing them to please the mind. Almost anyone can write — but not everyone is gifted in this field. Gifted authors bring images alive with their choice of words. Gifted authors often write classic literature, and classics are an excellent way to spend one’s reading time.
Twaddle is easy to come by; the planet is filled with it. People coped with it in previous centuries, and we must cope with it in ours. If anything, literature has deteriorated even further. The best way to handle this excessive quantity of bad books is to stand firm and only spend our money on the best — even at holiday time.
But what about friends and relatives who unknowingly supply our children with twaddle at gift-giving times?
Try talking to those who are apt to buy gifts for your children and tell them about the direction you’re heading with reading material. Some people pick up on things easier than others, therefore, for some folks a simple explanation of the type of literature you want purchased as gifts is all they’ll need. If you’ve started to collect any particular set of children’s classics currently in bookstores or catalogues, you could provide Grandma with a list of titles you’d like. Be specific, and offer to help her with the ordering or perhaps even drive her to your favorite bookstore.
Twaddle-Free Holidays
How else can we apply the concept of twaddle to the holiday season as a whole?
Well, I firmly believe that twaddle is in the eye of the beholder. That means that some of the following ideas may appeal to you while others may not meet your expectations. Catherine and I put our heads together and came up with the following ideas — some of which were shared with us over the years by other people. As always, take what you like and ignore what you don’t.
During the holidays, I frequently discover a large number of low-cost entertainment options by reading the “What’s Happening” section of our local newspaper. For example, this week I found a listing for a singing group performing traditional Celtic holiday carols at a local church for just a small donation. Many churches and community groups put on low-cost (or free) live performances during the holidays.
Rather than taking the family to a newly released holiday movie, consider spending a few extra dollars and attend a ballet or classical concert instead. Many times attending a concert by a local symphony performing familiar Christmas songs is a very child-friendly introduction to symphonic music for children who haven’t previously experienced that type of music. Also, many churches offer sing-a-longs of Handel’s Messiah that are open to the general public.
As we all know, holiday music is drastically varied. Perhaps some attention to playing classical music around the house — while avoiding animated cartoon characters screeching their holiday favorites — would be more soothing.
Many families, including both Catherine’s and mine, buy one new Christmas book a year and have their collection on display. Catherine’s favorite is called The Christmas Story featuring the paintings of Gennady Spirin. It’s breathtakingly beautiful and priced accordingly — however Catherine insists it’s worth every penny. This is one way to include masterpiece artwork into this season of the year.
It’s also time to buy next year’s calendar. If you haven’t thought of it before, hold out until you find one featuring fine art rather than kittens, horses or cars. Along with being a practical item, the calendars often provide excellent prints to use for art appreciation throughout the year.
While grown children and other relatives visit, provide some old-fashioned fun that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. Charades, sing-a-longs, board games and caroling are easy, affordable and fun. Catherine’s family collects Christmas jigsaw puzzles — which may appear to be a bit twaddly at first glance — but they truly enjoy spending time together which makes it more than an aimless pursuit. You could also choose puzzles depicting masterpieces or popular works of art.
Many families are constructing their own advent calendars from wood and incorporating photographs and other touches. If everyone participated in a project of this sort, then they can all look forward to getting it out each December.
Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Well, if the snow doesn’t come to you then go to the snow. Some folks make an annual trek to the mountains during December in order to be assured of some contact with winter weather.
Obviously, there are countless good ideas that help families enjoy each other. Catherine and I send our absolute best to you this holiday season and may each of you be truly happy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: –Deborah Taylor-Hough (author and mother of three) is a free-lance writer, editor of The Charlotte Mason Monthly email newsletter [ join-cm-monthly@hub.thedollarstretcher.com ], and author of the bestselling Frozen Assets cookbook series and Frugal Living For Dummies®. Visit Debi online at: http://www.SimpleMom.com
A great idea for the holidays is to set aside a special box or basket containing your family’s special Christmas or other holiday books. The Holiday Book Box only comes out during the Advent season, and is put away again with the decorations after the first of the year.
THE ADVENT BOOK BOX
This list of Favorite Christmas Books was compiled following a discussion between a group of home schooling mothers looking for twaddle-free holiday reading for their families.
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Becky’s Christmas
by Tasha Tudor
(The) Best Christmas Pageant Ever!
by Barbara Robinson
Christmas at Long Pond
by William T. George
(The) Christmas Box
by Richard Paul Evans
(The) Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
by Susan Wojciechowski
(The) Christmas Stories of George MacDonald
by George MacDonald (out of print)
(The) Christmas Tree
by Julie Salamon
(The) Crippled Lamb
by Max Lucado
(The) Donkey’s Dream
by Barbara Helen Berger
(The) First Christmas
by Marcia Williams (out of print)
(The) Glorious Impossible
by Madeleine L’Engle
Martin Luther’s Christmas Book
by Martin Luther
(The) Night Before Christmas
by Clement Moore, illustrated by Jan Brett
A Northern Nativity: Christmas Dreams of a Pairie Boy
by William Kurelek
One Wintry Night
by Ruth Bell Graham
Rembrandt: The Christmas Story
Seven Stories of Christmas Love
by Leo F. Buscaglia
(The) Story of Christmas: Words from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke
illustrated by Jane Ray
Tale of Three Trees
by Angela Elwell Hunt
This is the Star
by Joyce Dunbar
OTHER HOLIDAY-RELATED BOOKS
Unplug the Christmas Machine, by Jo Robinson
Don’t wait until Christmas to read this book! The earlier you start thinking about the holidays, the easier it will be to make any necessary changes in your celebrations.
Debt Proof Your Holidays, by Mary Hunt
Whether you’re just looking for further frugal ideas for the upcoming holiday season, or you’re truly dreading another after-holidays debt hang-over, this book will be beneficial.
Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month, by Deborah Taylor-Hough
Less time in the kitchen means more time for activities you really enjoy. This book will show you a step-by-step plan to simplify and revolutionize the way you cook. Save time; save money; save your sanity! Contains a special Ten Day Holiday Meal Plan — perfect for simplifying your holiday meal preparation.
Simplify Your Christmas, by Elaine St James
Simple ideas for taking the complexity out of the holidays.
Hundred Dollar Holiday, by Bill McKibben
“What we need and long for now are the gifts of time, meaningful family connections, periods of silence, a relationship with the divine,” McKibben writes.
~Debi
Narration is the process of telling back what has been learned or read. Narrations are usually done orally, but as the child grows older (around age 12) and his writing skills increase, the narrations can be written as well. Narration can also be accomplished creatively: painting, drawing, sculpting, play-acting, etc.
There’s great value in keeping a personal journal, encouraging reflection and descriptive writing. Record activities, thoughts and feelings, favorite sayings, personal mottoes, favorite poems, etc.
Daily copywork provides on-going practice for handwriting, spelling, grammar, etc. Keep a notebook specifically for copying noteworthy poems, prose, quotes, etc. Each day choose a paragraph, or sentence, or page (depending on the age of child). Have the child practice writing it perfectly during his copywork time. Have them look carefully at all punctuation, capital letters, etc. When the child knows the passage well, dictate the passage to the child for him to recreate the passage.
Living books are the opposite of dull, dry textbooks. The people, places and events come alive as you read a living book. The stories touch your mind and heart. They are timeless.
For a list of children’s books recommended by grade level, click on the illustration.
Catherine Levison, author of A Charlotte Mason Education, says:
“Charlotte Mason advocated avoiding twaddle and feasting children’s hearts and minds on the best literary works available. Twaddle is what parents and educators today might call ‘dumbed down’ literature. It is serving your children intellectual happy meals, rather than healthy, substantive mind- and soul-building foods.”
Miss Mason also recommended whole books rather than anthologies. Whole books are the entirety of the books the author actually wrote. If the author wrote a book, read the whole book. The opposite of this would be anthologies that include only snippets from other works—maybe a chapter from Dickens, a couple of paragraphs from Tolstoy, etc.
Deborah Taylor-Hough (editor of The Charlotte Mason Monthly newsletter and this blog you’re visiting now) is also the author of several books including the popular Frozen Assets cookbook series and Frugal Living for Dummies(R).
Debi has just released three new titles in September 2009 with Lulu Publishing. These titles aren’t available yet in bookstores or through online retailers (such as Amazon.com or BN.com). Ordering directly from the publisher’s website is the only way to currently purchase these new titles.
Habits: The Mother’s Secret to Success
Print: $9.99
Download: $4.99
Charlotte Mason was a British educator from the last century whose ideas are currently experiencing a revival, especially among American private and home schools. Her ideas on the formation of habit are a key to understanding how to make lasting change in a child, or even yourself. This book is an excerpt of her teachings specifically on the topic of habits. Introduction and editing by Deborah Taylor-Hough.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/habits-the-mothers-secret-to-success/4517182
The Simple Mom’s Idea BookPrint: $11.99
Download: $4.99
While starting life as a new wife and mom, the author always wished for a personal mentor. Someone who could take her under their wing and show her the ropes of how to be a stay-at-home mom, live on one income, survive in a tough economy, educate her three lively kids, and raise children who successfully grew up to be adults who reflected the character of their Savior. If you’ve been looking for some simple ideas for life and homemaking from someone’s who been around the block more than once or twice, look no further. Have no fear … the Simple Mom is here!
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-simple-moms-idea-book/7664648
Basics of Inductive Bible StudyPrint: $7.99
Download: $3.99
Think the Bible’s confusing? You don’t understand the language? Don’t let the Bible intimidate you anymore! Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide to studying the Bible for anyone, both newbie and experienced alike. Learn to see for yourself what the Bible is really saying, what it all means, and then discover how to easily and practically apply its teachings to your own life. Topics covered include: Observation, themes, people, context, key words, interpretation, word studies, application, basic study outline, helpful suggestions for Bible study leaders, and several sample lessons from a study on the epistle (“letter”) to the first-century church at Philippi (aka “Philippians”). Basics of Inductive Bible Study is based on the teaching outline from the author’s class, An Introduction to Bible Study.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/basics-of-inductive-bible-study/7642225
Copyright Catherine Levison. Used with permission. All rights reserved. http://charlottemasoneducation.com
We all want to raise polite and loving children who aren’t causing our lives or home schools to be in a constant state of friction. Both adults and children tend to be creatures of habit and there is no end to the problems (or, better yet, lack of them) that arise from habit.
It’s a good thing that much of our daily activities are habitual, for example, people operate cars through the power of habit. What would it be like to have to think about the turn signal, foot brake, steering wheel and two mirrors every time we made a turn? What does this have to do with raising children and education? Everything. Much of what we do, and how we do it, is controlled by habit.
I observed the power of habit first hand when we moved the dining room clock in our house and replaced it with a picture. Because the clock had hung there for nine years everyone found themselves disoriented by the change. I don t know how many times I stood in front of the picture mystified, trying to figure out the time.
I also came face to face with the power of habit when we moved into a house that had a sink with reversed hot and cold water faucets. I thought I would grow accustomed to the reversal rather quickly — I was wrong. I would have been able to replace one habit with another if there had only been one sink in the house, however, it wasn t the only one and I admit I found myself in constant confusion when I was in front of this particular sink. I had to think instead of relying on habit.
Charlotte Mason was one educator who recognized and wrote about the power of habit and claimed that even virtues such as patience, meekness, courage, generosity and truthfulness are a matter of habit and can be trained as such. I agreed with her to a point but I did not really know this to be a fact until one time when I paid for my groceries with a hundred dollar bill. The clerk made change, then wrapped it up inside the receipt and inadvertently included my hundred dollars. No one saw this, in fact, I almost didn t look at the wad myself. At the last moment I did look in my hand and saw what had happened. My reaction came so fast even I was surprised. One of my habits is honesty and it was out of habit that I returned the money. Later, I thought about habitual morality and realized its significance.
If you find yourself always telling or asking your children the same things over and over again then this teaching on habit will benefit you. If I had the proverbial nickel for every time I told my kids to put the milk away, I’d be rich. Mason noted that when you find yourself always telling children to do the same thing, you have not trained them in the habits you wish they would perform.
The key is to identify one bad habit at a time in your child (or yourself) and then purposefully replace it with a good habit. We often make the mistake of tackling too many bad behaviors at one time. Success comes when we focus on one problem at a time. It s best to approach the child, clearly state what the bad habit is and then explain how it will affect their future.
For example, if your teenage child prefers to sleep in rather than getting up at a decent time explain to him how this can affect his employment, college grades and ability to catch the bus on time. The goal is to get him to see why he would want to make a change. Make that your first and final lecture. With a view that the child has to exert himself toward the new habit, do not interfere when it isn t necessary. Help as inconspicuously as possible.
Habits ordinarily take six to eight weeks to take shape and become permanent. Then they are habitual and will not need additional work. After the bad habit has been replaced by a good habit you can target a new habit.
For Charlotte Mason’s own words on the subject of habit formation, be sure to check out the new book, Habits: The Mother’s Secret to Success, edited by my dear friend, Deborah Taylor-Hough.
About the Author:
Catherine Levison is a long term home schooling parent with over a decade of experience. She is the mother of five children and resides in Seattle. A popular speaker to home schooling audiences throughout the USA and Canada, Levison is the author of the popular book, A Charlotte Mason Education: A How-To Manual, the sequel More Charlotte Mason Education and A Literary Education: An Annotated Book List (SourceBooks). Visit Catherine online at: http://charlottemasoneducation.com
Those of you who frequent my personal blog (Life: The Journey), may remember how I was going to put together notes from some of the classes I’d taught at church this past year.
Well, I finally finished one of the booklets! This first booklet was basically put together from my teaching outline for the “Introduction to Bible Study” class.
Feel free to take a peek at:
http://www.lulu.com/content/basics-of-inductive-bible-study/7642225
There are several more of these books/booklets based on my classes and workshops in the works … so stayed tuned! 
~Debi
Editor, Charlotte Mason Monthly eNewsletter
Copyright Sheila Carroll. Used with permission. All rights reserved. http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com
What is a living book? Charlotte Mason said a living book is one that is “well put” and “well told” (Parents and Children, p. 263).In other words, in a living book:
-
The language used powerfully and beautifully expresses the ideas of its author
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The narrative — whether fiction or non-fiction — holds together in a compelling and memorable way.
Here’s an example:
Typically in elementary school today, the study of germs is given a few pages in a science text. Louis Pasteur and the story of his work with cows and vaccines is given a passing reference.
Typically in elementary school today, the study of germs is given a few pages in a science text. Louis Pasteur and the story of his work with cows and vaccines is given a passing reference.
Instead, read Louis Pasteur: Founder of Modern Medicine to learn of Pasteur’s early research into why vats of fermented beer were turning sour (answer: microorganism had contaminated the batch), and later how three of Pasteur’s daughters died from typhoid and then, in 1865, a cholera epidemic hit Marseilles, France. It was then that Pasteur carried out a number of experiments in a hospital in the hope of finding the germ that caused this feared disease and to save the town of Marseilles.
Interested? Your children will be, too. That’s a living book.
Another way to think of living books:
When children grow up hearing the best ideas put forth in the best possible language, they model their thinking and their writing after these. Charlotte Mason felt that a parent or teacher’s chief duty was to provide living ideas as food for the child’s mind.
If we give our children “dumbed down” books or books in which the information is in bits and pieces across the page, then the ideas are no longer living but dry-as-dust facts. Living ideas are primarily found in living books, books that are “well put and well told. “
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
–Sheila Carroll is founder of Living Books Curriculum, a literature rich, complete curriculum growing from the work of Charlotte Mason. This article previously appeared in Parent’s Journal, the e-newsletter of Living Books Curriculum. Visit Sheila online at: http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com
A long-time online aquaintance of mine recently posted a series of posts on her blog about how she was able to put together an entire year’s worth of curriculum from just a couple of trips to the thrift store.
If you think homeschooling’s just too expensive to consider pursuing seriously, take a look at Mama Squirrel’s ideas.
Here’s a link to her series of posts:
”What I came up with isn’t necessarily a Charlotte Mason curriculum; that needs to be clear … I think it’s more like an amalgam of Sonlight Curriculum and Ruth Beechick; it’s supposed to be something that could keep you going, even if you were homeschooling for the first time.” –Mama Squirrel
Later today I’m going to be adding a small pile of used books to my eBay store. I’m in the midst of trying to do some serious decluttering around my house. Wish me luck! 
A number of the books will be about financial and simple living topics that might be of interest to readers of this blog. Plus, there should be some children’s books, educational materials, and classic literature, as well.
So far, I’ve listed several books in the Core Knowledge Series (What Your Kindergartner [1st, 2nd, 3rd grader] Needs to Know). I also have an unused (and unopened) copy of Quicken Personal Finance 2007 Home & Business software. And due to popular demand from several friends, I’m going to list a couple of photographs that I’ve taken and had made into 8″x10″ prints and matted in 11″x14″ mattes.
Feel free to stop by later and see if there’s anything that interests you or your family.
http://stores.ebay.com/Simple-Pleasures-Books-and-Gifts
~Debi
I found the following quote online and thought it was good information for anyone trying to decide where to start with reading about Charlotte Mason’s methods:
“I love Catherine Levison’s books, both A Charlotte Mason Education and More Charlotte Mason Education. I bought her back issues of Charlotte Mason Communique, and I read them diligently and reread them. … I like practical, down to earth, straightforward, cut to the chase, plain, unadorned, just the facts ma’am approaches. I’m a practical, cut to the chase, ‘is that logical’ sort of person. That’s the way Levison writes — lots of practical, useful ideas, little wrapping, and none of it fluffy.”
You can read the entire posting here: http://heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com/2007/09/charlotte-mason-books.html
~Debi
I stumbled across this article today and thought some of you might find it helpful, as well. Here’s a small snippet:
The tremendous pleasure that comes from reading Shakespeare was spoiled for generations of high school students who were forced to go through Julius Caesar, Hamlet or Macbeth scene by scene, to look up all the new words and to study all the scholarly footnotes. As a result, they never really read the play. By the time they got to the end they had forgotten the beginning and lost sight of the whole. Instead of being forced to take this pedantic approach, they should have been encouraged to read the play in one sitting and discuss what they got out of that first quick reading. Then they would have been ready to study the play carefully, for they would have understood enough of it to be able to learn more.
–excerpted from How to Read a Hard Book by Mortimer J. Adler
To read to the complete article, go to: http://www.classicalhomeschooling.com/html/third_issue_howtotread.html
Because Charlotte Mason strongly recommended the avoidance of twaddle, parents are often concerned about what it is and how they can successfully avoid it in the context of education.
First, let’s look at the synonyms of twaddle which include, babble, drivel and silly. Ordinarily twaddle refers to literature written down to children. Books written to children are not avoided. A good example would be any of Beatrix Potter’s works — she writes to children but not down to them. If we were to review what Charlotte would recommend in children’s literature we’d look for interesting content and well constructed sentences clothed in literary language. She wanted the imagination to be warmed and the book to hold the interest of the child. In Charlotte Mason’s opinion, life’s too short to spend time with books that bore us.
If our children have only been exposed to junk food, they may resist trying nutritious food. If they’ve been raised on twaddle, they may need to be weaned slowly off of this mental junk food. Ideally, if they were not exposed to twaddly books in the first place, all involved would be way ahead of the game.
It is my opinion that dumbed-down literature is easy to spot. When you’re standing in the library and pick up modern-day, elementary-level books, you’re apt to see short sentences with very little effort applied to artistically constructing them to please the mind. Almost anyone can write — but not everyone is gifted in this field. Gifted authors bring images alive with their choice of words (I do not claim to be gifted in this area, by the way. Writing is just an efficient mode of communication to me — I much prefer talking). Gifted authors often write classic literature, and classics are an excellent way to spend one’s reading time.
Twaddle is easy to come by; the planet is filled with it. People coped with it in Charlotte Mason’s day, and we must cope with it in ours’. If anything, literature has deteriorated even further. The best way to cope with this excessive quantity of bad books is to stand firm and only spend our money on the best.
But what about friends and relatives who unknowingly supply our children with twaddle at gift-giving times? Try talking to those who are apt to buy gifts for your children and tell them about the direction you’re heading with reading material. Some people pick up on things easier than others, therefore, for some folks a simple explanation of the type of literature you want purchased as gifts is all they’ll need. If you’ve started to collect any particular set of children’s classics currently in bookstores or catalogs, you could provide Grandma with a list of titles you’d like. Be specific, and offer to help her with the ordering, or perhaps even drive her to your favorite bookstore, or give out a copy of the following list: Twaddle-Free Books by Grade Level.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Catherine Levison (Washington resident, mother of five, and home schooling parent for over ten years) is a frequent speaker to parenting and home schooling audiences throughout the USA and Canada. She is the author of A Charlotte Mason Education: A How to Manual and the sequel, More Charlotte Mason Education. Visit Catherine online at: http://charlottemasoneducation.com/
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