Composition programs can also rob children of the joy of
playing with words. Writing often involves hard work, but it ought to be
enjoyable as well. I have raised
successful writers by simply applying Charlotte Mason’s methods. I didn’t
cherry pick, mind you, but faithfully followed all of her suggestions. This is
extremely important to understand. Contrary to what some suggest, narration
alone is not enough. I’d like to explain
how I did it, using one of my children as an example, because sometimes,
practical real-life situations can clarify difficult processes. Let’s briefly
walk through her writing experiences from birth to her high school graduation.
The Preschool and
Kindergarten Years
When Bryana was very young and not yet reading, my husband
and I built a small library of award-winning children’s picture books and read
these aloud to her over and over again. We chose each title carefully. We did
not go to the library every week because we believed that a good library
consisting of a few quality books was better than a book a day if it were
merely twaddle. We gradually filled a
single bookshelf and used these books for several years. Sometimes when I read
aloud, I’d point to the words. Bryana learned at an early age that words were meaningful
and fun.
Even when I taught her to read, I was careful not to quench
her love for the written word and refrained from too much phonics instruction
and long lessons. She practiced reading every day, but only for a few minutes.
When she began to tire, we immediately stopped. Why do I tell you this? Because
I want to make it clear that good writers
love words. If, from the beginning, you introduce words in an enjoyable
fashion, your children will be less resistant to them later. Reading
instruction should be fun. If not, you are doing something wrong. Don’t take
yourself so seriously when teaching your child to read. Relax and enjoy the
process together.
The Early Elementary
Years
Until Bryana was eight or nine years old, I read aloud many
of her school books because she was busy becoming a proficient reader. She read
the simpler books to herself and I read aloud the more difficult children’s
classics and histories. After I read a brief passage, I’d have her tell back to
me what she could remember. Charlotte Mason calls this oral narration or oral
composition. Notice that Bryana was learning
basic composition skills by retelling what she just heard.
Think about it. What do we do when we write down a
narrative? We have to remember the events and sort them in the order in which
they happened. We have to decide what is important enough to tell and what
should be left out. We use appropriate transition phrases such as next and then. We must recall names and places and think about cause and
effect. Bryana was doing all of these complex thinking processes in her head
and relating them to me without having the difficult distraction of writing
them all down. After all, she was only seven years old and still learning to write
legibly.
After learning to write the alphabet, she began to copy down
her favorite lines from the books we were reading. She spent just ten minutes a
day on this. It was mostly for handwriting practice, but it also helped her to
pay closer attention to a well-formed sentence. This is how she learned basic
punctuation and capitalization. She copied excellent literature and poetry
throughout her remaining school years. Today she has several journals filled
with her favorite passages and quotes from various authors. This is some of the
necessary material for making a good author.
The Later Elementary
Years
According to Charlotte Mason, children should have frequent,
daily practice with oral composition for several years before attempting
written composition. So we waited until Bryana was nearly ten years old before
teaching her to write down her narrations. By this time, she was excellent at
oral narration and proficient with a pencil.
Transitioning from oral narrations to paper was much easier for her at
this age. At first, she only wrote three or four lines, but gradually, she
increased these written narrations to a page or two. I told her that I didn’t
want a boring summary. I wanted her to include interesting details and use
exciting words that the author used. She should simply write down her oral
narrations. Of course she couldn’t write down all that she wanted to say, but I
didn’t require her to finish the narration, just write as much as she could in
the amount of time I gave her, which was usually 20 minutes.
During the first year, her narrations were filled with
mechanical errors, but I took Charlotte Mason’s advice and resisted the urge to
get out a red pen. Instead, I complimented something from her piece, and then
pointed out just one thing that she should correct and watch out for next time.
I privately noted misspelled words and wrote them down for a spelling/dictation
lesson later in the week. Often, I didn’t correct a narration at all. But I
began to have her write more often, stretching her but not frustrating
her. Every few narrations, I pointed out
one or two errors to fix and work on. I wanted to be a cheerleader more than a
critic. Please understand, I was not an expert and often had to get out a
writer’s guide to make sure I knew how to correct her work. Most errors were
simple punctuation and capitalization errors. Other obvious mistakes were the
use of repetitious words such as and
he did this and he did that. Or, then he did this, then he did that. I corrected her to the best of my ability, but
amazingly, over time, much of her writing improved on its own. This is because,
through narration, she became so familiar with well-written literature, it
couldn’t help but flow from her pen.
The Junior High Years
By twelve years of age, Bryana was writing daily narrations.
Her writing became more interesting and she often copied the style of a
particular author of the schoolbook from which she had been reading and
narrating. She could switch her style too, depending upon the author and book.
This is an amazing accomplishment, one that many professional writers do not do
well and it was all because of the rich and varied literature she was reading.
At this point, I helped her start a blog. I thought this
would give her an incentive to write more if she knew she had an audience. I
explained that she now potentially had an audience of thousands of people, and
so she would have to be very careful to frame her words well and edit before
she posted. The posts had to pass my approval, but I did not micro-manage the
blog. My only requirement was that she wrote worthy, encouraging thoughts.
Bryana began to post some of her narrations. She also began to critique books
and movies she had read and watched. She explained why she agreed or disagreed with
the actions of the heroes in these stories. This helped her writing to change
from simple narratives to critical essays. Her enthusiasm to write increased noticeably.
Each year, her writing improved.
The High School Years
Now, Bryana was writing two or three narrations daily. She
began to develop her own unique writing style. This came naturally after
experimenting with the many styles from which she had read and narrated. She
still didn’t write neat little essays, but simple retold what she read. Around
fourteen years of age, I had her read through Strunk and White’s short, helpful
Elements of Style. She never
completely stopped oral narrations, but they became more informal. She would
explain what she was reading at the dinner table or in casual conversation.
Charlotte Mason believed this was the opportune time to
teach students how to write formal essays. A formal essay has an introduction
and a tidy conclusion. It focuses on retelling, describing, explaining or
defending something. It can have other purposes, but these are the most common.
After years of writing narratives, Bryana easily learned how to transform a
narration into a tidy formal essay. I used the website located at
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/composition.htm
to help explain the format and process to her. Once a month she practiced writing a formal
essay using topics that interested her from her schoolbooks. This new-found
skill was especially helpful when she took the SAT college entrance exam. Generally,
composition programs teach this skill over a period of several years and charge
a hefty sum as well. I want to say this loud and clear, this is completely unnecessary. I know that there are
naysayers out there that will try to convince you that you need that popular,
structured, writing program. They capitalize on your fears and insecurities. Afterall, they are the professionals. You are just a parent. Don't believe them. Instead,
listen to many successful authors. They agree with me that writing
programs don't make good writers. Reading large amounts of great literature and writing, writing, writing, are what make great writers. I agree with them because I have also seen the results, over and over again.
Before Bryana graduated from high school, she was writing
for two political journals and several poetry journals. She published her first
book in 2012. Today, writing is a passion of hers. She writes to communicate
truth. My other three children are also successful writers. They are all enthusiastic about their craft and feel the need to write because they have something important to say. Every one of them
went through the simple, holistic process I just described. I want to encourage you to trust Charlotte
Mason’s methods of reading a wide variety of excellent literature and imitating brilliant writers
through copy work, oral and written narration. If you faithfully and accurately
apply these methods you will raise good writers.
one step at a time...
(first published in Home Educating Family Magazine)