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A Delectable Education Charlotte Mason Podcast

Through twice monthly conversations, three moms who have studied the Charlotte Mason method of education and put her ideas into practice in their homes join together to share with one another for the benefit of listeners by giving explanations of Mason's principles and examples of those principles put into practice out of their own teaching experience. These short discussions aim at providing information, support, and encouragement for others by unfolding the myriad aspects.

Episode 272: Charlotte Mason on Children "Liking" Their Books

Published: Jan. 5, 2024, 7 a.m.
Duration: 43 minutes 43 seconds

\\u201cThe children must enjoy their books." (3/178)

"What manner of book will find its way with upheaving effect into the mind of an intelligent boy or girl? We need not ask what the firl or boy likes. She very often likes the twaddle of goody-goody storybooks, he likes condiments, highly-spiced tales of adventure. We are all capable of liking mental food of a poor quality..." (3/168)

"[T]he happiness of the child is the condition of his progress; that his lessons should be joyous, and that occasions of friction in the schoolroom are greatly to be deprecated." (1/178, emphasis added)

"Our conception of a child rules our relations towards him. Pour s\'amuser is the rule of child-life proper for the \'oyster\' theory, and most of our children\'s books and many of our theories of child-education are based upon this rule. \'Oh! he\'s so happy,\' we say, and are content, believing that if he is happy he will be good; and it is so to a great extent; but in the older days the theory was, if you are good you will be happy; and this is a principle which strikes the keynote of endeavour, and holds good, not only through the childish \'stage of evolution,\' but for the whole of life, here and hereafter. The child who has learned to \'endeavour himself\' (as the Prayer Book has it) has learned to live." (2/254)

"Your opinions about books and other things will very likely be wrong, and you will yourself correct them by and by when you have read more, thought more, know more. Indeed, no wise person, however old, is sure of his opinions." (4/I/183-84)

"A child has not begun his education until he has acquired the habit of reading to himself, with interest and pleasure, books fully on a level with his intelligence. I am speaking now of his lesson-books, which are all too apt to be written in a style of insufferable twaddle, probably because they are written by persons who have never chanced to meet a child. All who know children know that they do not talk twaddle and do not like it, and prefer that which appeals to their understanding. Their lesson-books should offer matter for their reading, whether aloud or to themselves; therefore they should be written with literary power. As for the matter of these books, let us remember that children can take in ideas and principles, whether the latter be moral or mechanical, as quickly and clearly as we do ourselves (perhaps more so); but detailed processes, lists and summaries, blunt the edge of a child\'s delicate mind." (1/229)

"A corollary of the principle that education is the science of relations, is, that no education seems to be worth the name which has not made children at home in the world of books, and so related them, mind to mind, with thinkers who have dealt with knowledge. We reject epitomes, compilations, and their like, and put into children\'s hands books which, long or short, are *living*. Thus it becomes a large part of the teacher\'s work to help children to deal with their books; so that the oral lesson and lecture are but small matters in education, and are used chiefly to summarise or to expand or illustrate." (3/226)

"We are apt to believe that children cannot be interested in the Bible unless its pages be watered down\\u2013\\u2013turned into the slipshod English we prefer to offer them." (1/247-48)

"We are determined that the children shall love books, therefore we do not interpose ourselves between the book and the child. We read him his *Tanglewood Tales*, and when he is a little older his *Plutarch*, not trying to break up or water down, but leaving the child\'s mind to deal with the matter as it can." (2/231-32)

"The teacher\'s part in this regard is to see and feel for himself, and then to rouse his pupils by an appreciative look or word; but to beware how he deadens the impression by a flood of talk. Intellectual sympathy is very stimulating; but we have all been in the case of the little girl who said, \'Mother, I think I could understand if you did not explain *quite* so much.\'" (3/178)

"The real use of naturalists\' books at this stage is to give the child delightful glimpses into the world of wonders he lives in, to reveal the sorts of things to be seen by curious eyes, and fill him with desire to make discoveries for himself." (1/64)

"This sort of weak literature for the children, both in any story and lesson books, is the result of a reactionary process. Not so long ago the current impression was that the children had little understanding, but prodigious memory for facts; dates, numbers, rules, catechisms of knowledge, much information in small parcels, was supposed to be the fitting material for a child\'s education. We have changed all that, and put into the children\'s hands lesson-books with pretty pictures and easy talk, almost as good as story-books; but we do not see that, after all, we are but giving the same little pills of knowledge in the form of a weak and copious diluent. Teachers, and even parents, who are careful enough about their children\'s diet, are so reckless as to the sort of mental aliment offered to them, that I am exceedingly anxious to secure consideration for this question, of the lessons and literature proper for the little people." (1/176)

"In their power of giving impulse and stirring emotion is another use of books, the right books; but that is just the question\\u2013\\u2013which are the right books?\\u2013\\u2013a point upon which I should not wish to play Sir Oracle. The \'hundred best books for the schoolroom\' may be put down on a list, but not by me. I venture to propose one or two principles in the matter of school-books, and shall leave the far more difficult part, the application of those principles, to the reader." (3/177)

"Children cannot answer questions set on the wrong book; and the difficulty of selection is increased by the fact that what they like in books is no more a guide than what they like in food." (6/248)

Mystery and Manners, Flannery O\'Connor

Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray

Moby Dick, Herman Melville

Arabella Buckley\'s Eyes and No Eyes series

Talkbox.mom

2024 ADE @ Home {Virtual Conference}

Episode 269: Jono Kiser on Good and Dangerous Books

Episode 6: Living Books

Episode 7: Recognizing Living Books

Episode 119: Q&A on the Arabella Buckley Books

ADE\'s Patreon Community

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Episode 271: Trusting the Method with Melanie Verlage

Published: Dec. 15, 2023, 7 a.m.
Duration: 34 minutes 10 seconds

This season, we are interviewing experienced Charlotte Mason moms, inviting them to tell us how they\'ve come to "Trust the Method." In today\'s episode, Melanie Verlage, Canadian mom of four girls tells us about her transition from public school to Charlotte Mason Homeschooling, and the surprising joys she\'s witnessed over the last six years.

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The Body, Bill Bryson

Episode 269: Voices from the Conference with Jono Kiser

ADE\'s Personal Curriculum Consultations

ADE\'s Patreon Community

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Episode 270: Can We Make Children Care?

Published: Dec. 1, 2023, 7 a.m.
Duration: 54 minutes 9 seconds

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Episode 269: Voices from the Conference: Jono Kiser on Dangerous Books

Published: Nov. 17, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 52 minutes 58 seconds

*The Great Gatsby,* F. Scott Fitzgerald

*The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*, Mark Twain

Bleak House, Charles Dickens

Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell

Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens

*Number the Stars,* Lois Lowry

*Junkyard Wonders*, Patricia Polacco

*The Hundred Dresses*, Eleanor Estes

2024 ADE @ Home {Virtual Conference}

Areopagitica, John Milton

ADE\'s Patreon Community

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Episode 268: Recitation Tactics

Published: Nov. 3, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 47 minutes 5 seconds

\\u201cIt will now be seen that I spoke nothing but the truth when I said that reading was an art which had its fixed laws. We have found laws for the emission of the voice, for respiration, for pronunciation, for articulation, and for punctuation ; that is to say, laws for all the material side, the technical part of the art of reading. Let us now pass on to its intellectual aspects.\\u201d (Ernest Legouv\\xe9. A Short Treatise on Reading Aloud. PR 17, p 436)

Hay said, \\u201cthe first of these two branches ... can in all cases be taught, and the second beyond hints and suggestions for guidance must be left to the taste and judgment of the speaker.\\u201d (p. 33-34)

What Charlotte Mason called \\u201cthe fine art of beautiful and perfect speaking.\\u201d (1/223)

\\u201cIt will now be seen that I spoke nothing but the truth when I said that reading was an art which had its fixed laws. We have found laws for the emission of the voice, for respiration, for pronunciation, for articulation, and for punctuation ; that is to say, laws for all the material side, the technical part of the art of reading. Let us now pass on to its intellectual aspects.\\u201d (Ernest Legouv\\xe9. A Short Treatise on Reading Aloud. PR 17, p 436)

Hay said, \\u201cthe first of these two branches ... can in all cases be taught, and the second beyond hints and suggestions for guidance must be left to the taste and judgment of the speaker.\\u201d (p. 33-34)

The Speaking Voice: Its Development and Preservation, Volume 1, Emil Behnke

The Speaking Voice: Its Development and Preservation,\\xa0Volume 2, Emil Behnke

The Art of Reading and Speaking, Canon Fleming

How You Talk, Paul Showers

Awaken: Living Books Conferences

Episode 69: Recitation

Episode 179: Recitation Immersion

Nicole\'s Recitation Handout

Episode 266: The Unity of the CM Method

Arthur Burrell\'s Recitation: The Children\'s Art

Mrs Tongue Does Her Housework

2024 ADE @ Home {Virtual Conference}

ADE\'s Patreon Community

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Episode 267: Trusting the Method with Celeste Cruz

Published: Oct. 20, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 32 minutes 44 seconds

"Not only confidence in themselves, but confidence in their children, is an element of the masterly inactivity, which I venture to propose to parents as a \'blue teapot\' for them \'to live up to.\' Believe in the relation of parent and child, and trust the children to believe in it and fulfil it on their part. They will do so if they are not worried." (3/30)

"People are naturally divided into those who read and think and those who do not read or think..." (6/31)

Paddle-to-the-Sea, Holling

Holling\'s Book of Indians

Awaken: Living Books Conference

Episode 264: The Time-Table

Celeste\'s blog: Joyous Lessons

ADE\'s Patreon Community

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Episode 266:The Unity of the Charlotte Mason Method

Published: Oct. 6, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 43 minutes 19 seconds

\\u201cTime is insufficient for teachers as well as for scholars. How then find room for a new subject ? Where place it ? What would give way for it ? The answer is easy. The art of reading can only benefit education where it adds nothing, eliminates nothing, supersedes nothing, but by assimilation is our aid to all things. It is not a tax but an aid to memory ; it does not fatigue, but relieves and supports the mind. It is to education what the gastric juice is to the nutritive process : it causes and facilitates digestion ; it is not in itself a new factor, but a component part of all the other factors.\\u201d (Short Treatise on Reading Aloud. PR 17, p 129)

"The reader will say with truth,-" I knew all this before and have always acted more or less on these principles " ; and I can only point to the unusual results we obtain through adhering not \' more or less,\' but strictly to the principles and practices I have indicated. I suppose the difficulties are of the sort that Lister had to contend with ; every surgeon knew that his instruments and appurtenances should be kept clean, but the saving of millions of lives has resulted from the adoption of the great surgeon\'s antiseptic treatment; that is from the substitution of exact principles scrupulously applied for the rather casual \' more or less \' methods of earlier days." (6/19)

\\u201cTherefore we do not feel it is lawful in the early days of a child\'s life to select certain subjects for his education to the exclusion of others; \\u2026 but we endeavour that he shall have relations of pleasure and intimacy established with as many as possible of the interests proper to him; not learning a slight or incomplete smattering about this or that subject, but plunging into vital knowledge, with a great field before him which in all his life he will not be able to explore.\\u201d (3/223)

"As we have already urged, there is but one right way, that is, children must do the work for themselves." (6/99)

"The children, not the teachers, are the responsible persons ; they do the work by self-effort." (6/241)

"\'The mother is qualified,\' says Pestalozzi, \'and qualified by the Creator Himself, to become the principal agent in the development of her child ; . . . and what is demanded of her is a thinking love. \\u2022 \\u2022 \\u2022 God has given to thy child all the faculties of our nature, but the grand point remains undecided-how shall this heart, this head, these hands, be employed? to whose service shall they be dedicated? A question the answer to which involves a futurity of happiness or misery to a life so dear to thee. Maternal love is the first agent in education.\'" (1/2)

"What we cannot do with Miss Mason\'s Ideal is to reduce it to lowest terms, and just in so far as we try to, so far we misrepresent it, and misunderstand it. But some of the secret undoubtedly lies in the Programmes of Work; the longer we work from those wonderful programmes the more we realise how well balanced they are; how satisfying to the hungry mind; how the subjects dovetail; how difficult it is to teach history only in history time, how it will \'flow over\' into geography, literature, or even into such unexpected channels as arithmetic or botany." (In Memoriam, p. 151)

"Method implies two things -- a way to an end, and step-by-step progress in that way. Further, the following of a method implies an idea, a mental image, of the end or object to be arrived at." (1/8)

"It would seem a far cry from Undine to a\' liberal education \' but there is a point of contact between the two ; a soul awoke within a water-sprite at the touch of love; so, I have to tell of the awakening of a \' general soul \' at the touch of knowledge. Eight years ago the \' soul \' of a class of children in a mining village school awoke simultaneously at this magic touch and has remained awake. We know that religion can awaken souls, that love makes a new man, that the call of a vocation may do it, and in the age of the Renaissance , men\'s souls, the general soul, awoke to knowledge : but this appeal rarely reaches the modern soul ; and, notwithstanding the pleasantness attending lessons and marks in all our schools, I believe the ardour for knowledge in the children of this mining village is a phenomenon that indicates new possibilities. Already many thousands of the children of the Empire had experienced this intellectual conversion, but they were the children of educated persons. To find that the children of a mining population were equally responsive seemed to open a new hope for the world. It may be that the souls of all children are waiting for the call of knowledge to awaken them to delightful living." (6/Preface)

"It is such a temptation to us ordinary folks to emphasize some part at the expense of the rest and so turn a. strength into a weakness. There is only one way to avoid this danger. That is constantly to read and re-read Miss Mason\'s books, constantly to remind ourselves of her first principles -- for from now onwards Miss Mason\'s work is in our hands; we dare not leave un-made and effort to keep the truth." (Wix, p. 153)

\\u201cQuestions there will always be, but if we continually keep in touch with Miss Mason\'s thought by constant reading of all her books, we shall have a sheaf of principles at command by which we can test the value of this or that criticism, this or that book.\\u201d (Franklin. PR 36 p. 419)

Talkbox.mom

Episode 182: Visualization

Episode 235: When the Feast is Too Much

Miss Wix\'s Article: Miss Mason\'s Ideal: Its Breadth and Balance

Episode 167: Method vs. System

ADE\'s Patreon Community

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Episode 265: Trusting the Method with Bethany Glosser

Published: Sept. 15, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 28 minutes 49 seconds

INK Newspaper

Morgan Conner\'s Reading Lessons

Living Literature Courses with Jono Kiser

Beauty and Truth Math

Climbing Higher Math

ADE\'s Patreon Community

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Episode 264: The Time-Table

Published: Sept. 1, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 41 minutes 12 seconds

"Time-Table; Definite Work in a Given Time. -- I shall have opportunities to enter into some of these points later; meantime, let us look in at a home schoolroom managed on sound principles. In the first place, there is a time-table, written out fairly, so that the child knows what he has to do and how long each lesson is to last. This idea of definite work to be finished in a given time is valuable to the child, not only as training him in habits of order, but in diligence; he learns that one time is not \'as good as another;\' that there is no right time left for what is not done in its own time; and this knowledge alone does a great deal to secure the child\'s attention to his work." (1/142)

\\u201cIn the first place, there is a time-table, written out fairly, so that the child knows what he has to do and how long each lesson is to last. This idea of definite work to be finished in a given time is valuable to the child, not only as training him in habits of order, but in diligence; he learns that one time is not \'as good as another\'; that there is no right time left for what is not done in its own time; and this knowledge alone does a great deal to secure the child\'s attention to his work.\\u201d (1/142)

\\u201cIt is impossible to overstate the importance of this habit of attention. It is, ..., \\u2018within the reach of everyone, and should be made the primary object of all mental discipline\\u2019; for whatever the natural gifts of the child, it is only so far as the habit of attention is cultivated in him that he is able to make use of them.\\u201d (1/146)

"Miss Kitching\'s introduction to the discussion of this subject involved the following points:
"1. That the P.U.S. time-table is intended to serve simply as a guide to the teacher in making her own, for it stands to reason that no two schoolrooms are identical as regards the work done, or the time allotted it.
"2. That in making her own time-table the teacher must be careful that no two lessons requiring the same mental effort follow one another in close proximity.
"3. That it is better to leave the term\'s work unfinished, than to rush the pupils through for sake finishing the work set.
"The general outcome of the discussion was to the effect that some modification of the programme and time-table is absolutely necessary, each teacher using her own discretion in the matter. Somebody very wisely remarked that Miss Mason intends the programme to fit the child, and not as some wildly imagine, the child to fit the programme." (L\'Umile Pianta, May 1915, pp. 58-59)

"It is evident that the young lady at home has so much in hand, without taking social claims into consideration, that she can have no time for dawdling, and, indeed will have to make a time-table for herself and map out her day carefully to get as much into it as she wishes." (5/261)

Talkbox.mom\\xa0

Beauty & Truth Math

Episode 258: Afternoons

ADE\'s Schedule Cards

Schedule Cards in Russian, Spanish, French, Portuguese

ADE\'s Patreon Community

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Episode 263: What Does it Mean to "Trust the Method"?

Published: Aug. 18, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 45 minutes 11 seconds

"The object of this organisation is not merely to raise the standard of work in the schoolroom. Our chief wish is that pupils should find knowledge delightful in itself and for its own sake, without thought of marks, places, prizes, or other rewards; and that they should develop an intelligent curiosity about the past and present. Children respond and take to their lessons with keen pleasure if they have even tolerably good teaching; and the want of marks, companionship, or other stimulus is not felt in those home schoolrooms where the interest of knowledge is allowed free play." ("A Liberal Education for All" Pamphlet, 1928, p. 31)

"Those who do not regard education as a vital whole but as a sort of conglomerate of good idea, good plans, traditions and experiences, do well to adopt and adapt any good idea they come across. But our conception of education is of a vital whole, harmonious, living and effective. Therefore, every plan rises out of a principle, and each such principle is a part of a living educational philosophy, and does not very well bear to be broken off and used by itself." ("A Liberal Education for All," p. 33)

\\u201cThe reader will say with truth,\\u2013\\u2013"I knew all this before and have always acted more or less on these principles"; and I can only point to the unusual results we obtain through adhering not \'more or less,\' but strictly to the principles and practices I have indicated. I suppose the difficulties are of the sort that Lister had to contend with; every surgeon knew that his instruments and appurtenances should be kept clean, but the saving of millions of lives has resulted from the adoption of the great surgeon\'s antiseptic treatment; that is from the substitution of exact principles scrupulously applied for the rather casual \'more or less\' methods of earlier days.\\u201d (6/19)

\\u201cIn the matter of education, we are hovering round the truth: that education is not merely a preparation for life, but the work of the lifetime is boldly announced. And, given thus much insight, is it conceivable that the education in question is no more than the cramming of a few text-books? Like religion, education is nothing or it is everything\\u2013\\u2013a consuming fire in the bones. How is it that we do not see, through the hurry of eating and drinking, getting and having, that our prime business here is to raise up a generation better than ourselves?\\u201d (5/145-46)

She trusted that parents and teachers do not have to, \\u201cdevelop the person; he is there already, with, possibly, every power that will serve him in his passage through life.\\u201d (3/75)\\xa0

\\u201cLike all the great ventures of life, this that I propose to you is a venture of faith, faith in the saving power of knowledge and in the assimilative power of children. Its efficacy depends upon the fact that it is in the nature of things, in the nature of knowledge and in the nature of children. Bring the two together in ways that are sanctioned by the laws of mind and, to use a figure, a chemical change takes place and a new product appears, a person of character and intelligence, an admirable citizen whose own life is too full and rich for him to be an uneasy member of society.\\u201d (A Liberal Education for All, No. I. Theory, by Charlotte Mason, https://charlottemasonpoetry.org/a-liberal-education-for-all/)

For the Children\'s Sake, Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

Charlotte Mason\'s Six Volumes

John Taylor Gatto\'s article

Episode 4: Three Tools of Education

Charlotte Mason\'s Short Synopsis

Episode 167: Method vs. System

ADE\'s Patreon Community

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Intro to Season 9: Announcements! New PEC! New Products!

Published: Aug. 4, 2023, 7 a.m.
Duration: 41 minutes 25 seconds

Episodes By Topic: Explore previous episodes grouped by subject

2023-24 Parents\' Educational Course: A suggested reading list curated for the modern CM educator

ADE at HOME 2024: Our fourth annual {Virtual} Conference, check back for more details in November. Registration begins November 24, 2023.

Teacher Helps: Products we\'ve created to help you plan, forecast, and implement lessons

Natural History Planner

Form 3-4 Bible Lesson Breakdowns (Revised Form 1-2 Bible Lesson Breakdowns here)

Form 1-2 Literature Breakdowns (Available August 7, 2023)

Upper Forms Geography: If you have previously purchased these, you can re-download the revised copy from your Purchase History

Recitation Planner with optional add-ons for printable Bile Passages

Teacher Training Videos

Sabbath Mood Homeschool Science Curriculum: Nicole has completed her curriculum with High School Ecology

ADE\'s Patreon Community

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Episode 261: Season 8 Closing Ceremonies

Published: May 19, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 28 minutes 28 seconds

Episode 241: Seasonal Reflections

Seasonal Reflection Questions

ADE at HOME {Virtual} Conference (First weekend in February each year, access for 3 months following)

Awaken: Living Books Conference July 21-22, 2023

ADE\'s Patreon Community

Parents\' Educational Course

Episode 232: Forecasting Lessons -- How to plan

Beyond the Forum Podcast with John Lennox

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Episode 260: CM in Your World--CM in Other Countries

Published: May 5, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 31 minutes 29 seconds

Charlotte Mason For All Podcast

Mariana\'s Podcast and the Mentorship\\xa0

- Instagram\\xa0https://www.instagram.com/descobrindocharlottemason/

- Website:\\xa0https://descobrindocharlottemason.com.br/

Publishing\\xa0Company, Editora Ideias Vivas

- Instagram:\\xa0https://www.instagram.com/editoraideiasvivas/

- Website:\\xa0https://editoraideiasvivas.com.br/

Schedule Cards in Russian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese

Charlotte Mason Colombia

Charlotte Mason Online

Charlotte Mason France

Russian language resources:

-www.uchimdoma.com\\xa0

-https://vk.com/mamauitman\\xa0(NOTE: May not be accessible in all areas of the world)

-Luda\'s Video Seminars:

\\u041e\\u0431\\u0440\\u0430\\u0437\\u043e\\u0432\\u0430\\u043d\\u0438\\u0435 - \\u044d\\u0442\\u043e \\u0430\\u0442\\u043c\\u043e\\u0441\\u0444\\u0435\\u0440\\u0430

\\u041e\\u0431\\u0440\\u0430\\u0437\\u043e\\u0432\\u0430\\u043d\\u0438\\u0435 - \\u044d\\u0442\\u043e \\u0436\\u0438\\u0437\\u043d\\u044c

\\u041e\\u0431\\u0440\\u0430\\u0437\\u043e\\u0432\\u0430\\u043d\\u0438\\u0435 - \\u044d\\u0442\\u043e \\u0434\\u0438\\u0441\\u0446\\u0438\\u043f\\u043b\\u0438\\u043d\\u0430

\\u041a\\u0430\\u043a \\u0443\\u0447\\u0438\\u0442\\u044c \\u043d\\u0435 \\u043f\\u043e \\u0443\\u0447\\u0435\\u0431\\u043d\\u0438\\u043a\\u0430\\u043c

* Contact Luda if you are interested in a Russian translation of the book\\xa0For the Children\'s Sake\\xa0by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

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Episode 259: CM in Your Community: CM Gatherings and Conferences

Published: April 21, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 26 minutes 17 seconds

Living Literature Courses: Open Registration begins May 1, 2023

Awaken: A Living Books Conference: July 21-22, 2023

Michelle Miller Howard\'s Children\'s Preservation Library

TruthQuest History

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Episode 258: Afternoons (Re-Release)

Published: April 7, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 51 minutes 2 seconds

Charlotte Mason recommended "afternoon occupations" and instructions about them were included in her programmes. Are there particular occupations, specified times and occurrences, and how much does the parent need to superintend these occupations? These and all questions involving afternoon was the focus of the original episode being re-aired, which includes a preliminary conversation from this year about clarifying particulars and eight years more experience of Nicole, Emily, and Liz.

"Then comes 3:45 when the children have an hour\'s work before tea\\u2014handicrafts, singing, painting, picture study are the type of lessons given at this time. Then comes tea, after which the children read and sew and have some time to amuse themselves." ("The Work and Aims of the P.U.S.")

"That the claims of the schoolroom should not be allowed to encroach on the child\'s right to long hours daily for exercise and investigation." (Vol. 1, p. 177)

"Thus, the morning, after breakfast (the digestion of which lighter meal is not a severe task), is much the best time for lessons and every sort of mental work; if the whole afternoon cannot be spared for out-of-door recreation, that is the time for mechanical tasks such as needlework, drawing, practising; the children\'s wits are bright enough in the evening, but the drawback to evening work is, that the brain, once excited, is inclined to carry on its labours beyond bed-time, and dreams, wakefulness, and uneasy sleep attend the poor child who has been at work until the last minute. If the elder children must work in the evening, they should have at least one or two pleasant social hours before they go to bed; but, indeed, we owe it to the children to abolish evening \'preparation.\'" (Vol. 1, p. 23)

"Five of the thirteen waking hours should be at the disposal of the children; three, at least, of these, from two o\'clock to five, for example, should be spent out of doors in all but very bad weather. This is the opportunity for out-of-door work, collecting wild flowers, describing walks and views, etc. (see Home Education). Brisk work and ample leisure and freedom should be the rule of the Home School. The Children\'s Day will, on the whole, run this: Lessons, 1 1/2 to 4 hours; meals, 2 hours; occupations, 1 to 3 hours; leisure, 5 to 7 hours, according to age. The work not done in its own time should be left undone. Children should not be embarrassed with arrears, and they should have dues sense of the importance of time, and that there is no other time for work not done in its own time. Should the children flag at any time, a day\'s holiday, a little country excursion, should refresh them." (From Suggestions which accompanied the PNEU Programmes)

"[Referring to the afternoon occupations]...at any time of day, in any division of time, to suit family arrangements; when possible, out of doors." (From Suggestions which accompanied the PNEU Programmes)

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If you would like to study along with us, here are some passages from The Home Education Series and other Parent\'s Review articles that would be helpful for this episode\'s topic. You may also read the series online here, or get the free Kindle version from Fisher Academy.

Home Education, Part II: Out of Door Life of Children