Hi, I'm Sonya Shafer with Simply Charlotte Mason. I'm here talking with
Richele Baburina today about her latest project: The Charlotte Mason
Elementary Arithmetic Series. Richele, there are a lot of math
curricula out there. What makes a Charlotte Mason approach to math
different from other curriculum? Well, I think one of the first things parents
will notice is that this isn't worksheet driven. That's a big difference. And we're
not sending our child away for 30 to 45 minutes to dawdle over their worksheet.
Instead, we're working one-on-one with the child
in order to develop a healthy relationship with mathematics. And how
long would that lesson take? About 20 minutes is all it's going to take. And at
that time we're building a habit of attention in our child, so another way
that this differs from other math curricula is that the development and
cultivation of good habits is also at the forefront. It's already built into
the methods. Yes. Okay, great. Now, there are manipulatives in a CM approach? Yes,
but instead of what we think of today as a manipulative based math program, with a
Charlotte Mason approach the manipulatives are just a means to the
end. So they're there as we're going to present an idea or concept to our child.
They're there for the child to work with a new concept, but we aren't
handcuffed to a special manipulative. These are everyday objects so our
children aren't going to confuse the general with the specific. So if that
certain specific manipulative is taken away, the child is still going to
understand what he's doing and this is another big difference with the
Charlotte Mason approach, and that is, we're cultivating mathematical thinking
and not just a mechanical ability to do a worksheet. That makes a big difference.
So your child is going to be able to understand the why rather than just the
how. And once the child understands the why, they are developing a firm
foundation in arithmetic that they're able to apply to everyday situations.
So with the writing, then, they are writing some, but it is
a totally different approach because writing becomes a privilege in these
lessons, rather than the drudgery you have to fill out this whole worksheet.
Can you imagine? Writing is actually something that a child looks forward to
in a Charlotte Mason arithmetic lesson. That's wild.
Now the other thing that's really neat to me is, they're using these
everyday objects so we don't have a lot of expensive manipulatives—it's just
things around the house—but they start with the objects and then they get to
imagine that they are something else. And we can customize those to
something the child is really interested in. We can, say, imagine that these
are dogs or race cars or whatever the child's interest is but they're still
thinking the mathematical way. Right. So there's a very careful progression with
our children here. So they begin with these everyday objects that they're able
to manipulate. We're presenting ideas or concepts with those objects and the
child is exploring the concept with something that he can see or prove.
We aren't asking him to memorize a handful of rules that he has no
relationship with. And the objects are very concrete; it's not just abstract
symbols on paper. They can actually touch them. It's very multi-sensory.
But we're not handcuffed to those objects. So the child is going to be able
to work with these objects, explore the concept while using the objects, but they
are a means to an end so they will eventually go away. So they'll work with
the objects and then at a certain point we'll call those objects by another name.
So, say it's kittens or puppies or something that the child has an interest
in. From there those objects will go away and the child is able to imagine
those objects. And from there we'll progress into that abstract thinking and
using just the numbers. Just the symbols. Another thing that I love is,
we encourage the child's creativity. We let him have a chance coming up with
little scenarios of his own based on what he has learned so far. And I don't
know many math curricula that encourage a child to be creative
with their math lessons. So we're really cultivating a habit of imagination
with these lessons and it's fun, it's exciting without using contrived
games that children usually can smell a mile away. And they're going to—as a
matter of fact, we hear from parents that are using the Charlotte Mason approach
in arithmetic that their children love this so much that they want to have
mental math in the car or at the dinner table. So not only are we not deadening
the power of imagination innate in a child, but we're also cultivating
that habit of imagination. It's such an unusual approach, but it's a brilliant
approach, and the children can really learn to think mathematically, to form a
relation with that parent, and to enjoy their math lessons. Look for
The Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic series from Simply Charlotte Mason.