Category Archives: Object Lessons

The Real Scientific Method

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Charlotte Mason said, “out-of-door nature-study lays the foundation for science.” (3/281) But have you ever wondered how that works?

To explain, I must start by clearing up a scientific myth — the ‘scientific method’ that you learned in school is ordinarily not used by scientists at all. The multi-step list seems to have started innocently enough when in 1945 a man named Keeslar prepared a paper with a list of things associated with scientific research. He submitted the list to research scientists and the items that were highly ranked were put in a logical order and made part of a final list of elements associated with the investigation of scientific problems. Textbook writers adopted this list as the description of how science is done and the “scientific method” was born. But scientists don’t usually conduct their research in the order outlined in the scientific method. They sometimes use it as an outline to write up their findings, but some people even take offense to this practice. (McComas) 

The scientific method then is a disjointed group of things a scientist does, just as a textbook is a somewhat disjointed list of things a student should learn in a particular field of science. Neither takes into account the natural way people learn or make discoveries in science. Charlotte Mason, on the other hand, always took into account the natural way people learn. She had an intuitive sense of the way a child would best learn a subject, but more importantly,  the way a child would best come to care about a subject. Continue reading →

Nature Study: Object Lessons

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Charlotte Mason tells us that the young child is “full of vivid interest. He has a thousand questions to ask, he wants to know about everything; he has, in fact, an inordinate appetite for knowledge.” Unfortunately, we soon cure him of all of that by “occupying him with books instead of things…and we succeed in bringing up the unobservant man (and more unobservant woman) who discerns no difference between an elm, a poplar and a lime tree, and misses very much of the joy of living.” (2/181-182)

If we are determined to follow Miss Mason’s lead down a better path, we must remember that while books are an essential part of a Living education, “a couple of hours’ work daily, not with Books but with Things” (3/271) will be very instructive as well, and the more we find a balance between the two, the more intelligent and observant our children will become.

Object lessons are an excellent way to gently guide a child to carefully examine a given object (a thing) to find out all he can about it through his five senses. In fact, when the child’s senses have been exercised and his interest aroused, he can most effectively retain what he has discovered.
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Nature Study and Science Lingo

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Does the science “lingo” used in Mason’s volumes and around the CM community confuse you at times? I thought I would take a few minutes to clarify some of the nature study and science terms that get tossed around.

Natural History was the blanket covering for all things science on the PNEU programs. Under this heading, we find a variety of activities and books, including nature lore, special studies, nature study notebooks, and resources for these topics. We also see typical science topics listed, such as chemistry, physics, the earth sciences, and botany.

Sometimes we also see the heading “Natural Science” or “General Science“, but the topics covered under these titles were listed under the general heading of “Natural History” at other times.

Nature Lore is essentially the use of naturalists’ books to open the students’ eyes and pique their interest regarding what is to be seen outside. This is seen on the PUS schedules at least once a week through form 2 (grade 6), but I feel like it should still be included for older children if they have not been homeschooled using the Charlotte Mason method for several years.

Some examples for form 1 students are:
James Herriot’s Treasury for Children by James Herriot
Squirrels and Other Fur-Bearers by John Burroughs
Wild Life in Woods and Fields by Arabella Buckley

Some examples for form 2 students are:
The Storybook of Science by Jean Henri Fabre
The Secret of Everyday Things by Jean Henri Fabre (381 pp.)
Insect Adventures by Jean Henri Fabre (298 pp.)
The Lay of the Land by Dallas Lore Sharp, 214 pages

Some examples for form 3+ students are:
The Amateur Naturalist by Gerald Durrell
Anatomy Of A Rose: Exploring The Secret Life Of Flowers by Sharman Apt Russell
A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

You can find many examples of these kinds of books on my Nature Lore page.

Special Studies are an opportunity to focus on an individual topic in the area of botany, biology or earth science. They are usually seasonally based, and although they can be done as a family, older students can pursue particular interests of their own. Typically time is scheduled during the morning hours to read books pertaining to the topic, and then during afternoon nature study the topic can be looked at more closely by way of observation or an object lesson. Read more about implementing special studies.

Object Lessons are usually done during nature study time, as a compliment to your special study topic. The Handbook of Nature Study is a great resource for this as it contains many short lessons divided by topic. The idea is that you take about 10 minutes to look much closer at something specific, even directing a few “casual” questions to the children to help them notice something they may not see without prompting. This activity should only take about 10 minutes. Read more about the use of object lessons in my article on implementing special studies.

Nature Study is done every afternoon when the child is young, but even as they get older they should have a minimum of one full afternoon spent outside each week. Frequently a nature walk is done during this time, but it is not necessary. The goal is to spend time outside observing what there is to see, however, this is not a time for the teacher to teach, but rather should be child-led. Read more about what afternoon time looks like when you have young children.

Brush Drawing is a form of water color painting that requires very little water. It is a way for students to record their observations, even when they are still too young to write in their nature notebooks. Learn more about it in my article keeping a nature journal.

I hope this helps! Let me know if I missed one that you would like to know more about.