Dear T—,
Since we’re on the topic of reading, I was originally going to talk about teaching kids to read1.
But then I realized that it would probably be even better to talk about the importance and effectiveness of short lessons, no matter what subject we’re talking about. So let’s do that instead!
Charlotte Mason says that the mind can only know what it asks and is able to answer for itself. She also emphasizes that the only actual education possible for any person is self-education. Both of these ideas center on the fact that the student who wants to learn needs to be able to pay attention well. Attention is a habit that we can all develop, and in fact in a world full of distractions it’s quite important that we do so.
Keeping lessons short and to the point will go a really long way in cultivating the habit of attention. As the habit becomes established, and the capacity for sustained attention grows, we can lengthen the lessons2; after all, we’re not doing short lessons for the sake of saving time (though that can certainly be a bonus at times), but rather for the sake of focused intentional learning time which will stand us in good stead for our whole lives.
Stop the lessons while things are still interesting rather than waiting for attention to wane. You can accomplish more in a 15 minute lesson with concentrated attention than you can with hours of scattered, distracted, torturous busywork.
Another strategy that goes hand-in-hand with short lessons is to vary or alternate the types of lessons that are back to back. Several lessons in a row of the same type will lead to mental and/or physical fatigue. So when you’re planning your days keep this in mind: the mind benefits from switching up the type of work we require of it.
So, for example, if you have a reading with a narration, follow that with some music. Or if you have a math lesson coming up, slip a movement break in there before getting out the math books. Follow recitation/memory work with a nature walk or even just some bike riding, then circle back to the reading again.
There are so many ways that the body/brain connection can come to our aid when we’re planning lessons. Even something as simple as stopping for a snack can be a huge help in keeping everyone on track and fresh for each lesson.
Love,
Lisa
In general, barring neuro-divergence, it can be a pretty straightforward process: grab a book like Alphaphonics or The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading, open the book and go! There are expectations to be talked about — like how some children will just move on a slower timeline, while others will pick it up quickly — but the important thing is to know your own child and don’t worry about it taking awhile unless your mama gut is telling you you really should worry and seek help. It takes time, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.
There is a common misconception floating around on the homeschooling interwebs that seems to think that short lessons are great for elementary school only, and that middle and high schoolers need longer lessons. This then translates somehow to: Charlotte Mason’s method is only good for elementary school. Baloney! While it’s true that 5-10 minutes are not an appropriate length for high school lessons (a high schooler who can’t pay attention for longer than 5 minutes has a problem) this does not mean that older students don’t also benefit from short lessons — their “short” just happens to be longer than the first grader’s “short”.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.