WORKSHOPS

Intertwining Ideals: Self-Activity and Masterly Inactivity with Celeste Cruz

In this opening talk, we explore two key tenets of Mason’s philosophy: self-activity for students, and masterly inactivity for parents and teachers. We first dispel some common misconceptions about self-activity and dive deep into understanding it better. What does Mason mean when she claims that “self-education is the only possible education”? What practices does this principle direct? How is it connected to natural law? How does it compare to other forms of learning, such as unschooling or child-led learning? What does self-activity look like in the classroom? We then explore the related principle of masterly inactivity, examining how these two principles can build upon one another and lead to more effective and enjoyable learning and teaching. As we consider how to strike the right balance between thoughtful guidance and wise passivity, we consider too God’s role as Supreme Educator and our own role as “guide, philosopher and friend.” This session also includes a picture study, in which we take on the role of student by observing and narrating a painting by J.M.W Turner.

We Are History: Mason’s Living Approach with Amy Snell

This session takes the principles from the introductory talk and begins to apply them to the study of “time and eternity”—history. Using research from the Parents’ Review and PUS programmes, we explore Mason’s aims and methods in teaching history, the ways such teaching expands in geography and era, and the unique fruits that follow from such work. The PNEU had to contend with flawed approaches to history education in their day, and many of them are still pervasive now—then, too, educators often equated history simply with the memorization of dates and facts! Through Mason’s emphasis on ideas and the use of living books, our students see history as the study of “living beings instead of dead things,” so that history becomes about remembering the living, and the past begins to speak to us about how to live today. Students develop sound judgment, just thinking towards others, and gratitude for the past. And they humbly recognize that they, too, have a role to play in the making of history.

Golden Beads on the Great Chain of Time: Living Books in History with Amy Snell

This workshop-style session includes an immersion of a history lesson, side-by-side book comparisons, and discussion time, all using books at various levels from the PUS programmes (and also scheduled by the CMEC). Through this experience we develop a better understanding of the structure of a Mason lesson and how each step supports the students’ efforts of self-education, as well as how the special qualities of living books help engage the students in their work. These insights encourage us to let the ideas of the book speak to the students without too much interference on our part, knowing that students will continue to wrestle with these ideas as their curriculum generously expands through the Forms. Similarly, we see that materials need not be coordinated and correlated unit-study style, but that “books and things” of living quality naturally lead the students to form connections themselves. The handbook includes sample lessons, booklists, timetables, and more.

The Student as Historian: Part 1, Narration with Celeste Cruz

No discussion about the content of a student's education would be complete without also considering the methods used. As Mason says, it is not just what we teach, but how. What tasks go into the work of the historian, and how do our students engage in these same kinds of tasks during their studies? In this session, we explore the living method of narration in all its forms: oral and written, the illustration of history in a variety of media; the “acting” of history in tableaux, miming of scenes and in play. We have a chance to discuss in small groups as well as look through many student examples of these formats. In addition, we examine the habits both required for and built by such work, such as the key habits of visualization and the ways we can support its growth in our students. We also look at a tool of chronology, the table of centuries or timeline, as the student’s first step in ordering time. Our workshop materials for this talk (and the next!) include an extensive, organized list of ways to narrate history, pulling from Mason’s volumes, the Parents’ Review, and years of practice in home and classroom settings.

The Student as Historian: Part 2, Notebook Work with Celeste Cruz

Picking up where the last workshop left off, this session takes on living methods for older students, focusing specifically on notebook work. Together we explore two history-keeping tools integrated into the Mason model in the upper years: century charts and the Book of Centuries. We consider how these tools encourage students to build an ordered and meaningful historical record through their own reading and research, looking at many examples from students of various ages. The session includes two immersions, using materials from the handbook for hands-on practice in constructing our own century charts and making Book of Centuries entries. Through this work, we have the chance to contrast the busywork and mechanical memory of other methods, like timeline songs and pre-packaged notebook materials, with the powerful assimilative memory cultivated by Mason’s approach.

High Thinking and Plain Living: Preparing History Lessons with Celeste Cruz

This session focuses on the way we prepare for the kind of history studies that have been detailed in the previous talks. Mason’s three tools of education—atmosphere, discipline, and life—help guide our discussion. How do we prepare in a way that promotes our students’ self-activity and our own masterly inactivity? Does the way we set up our spaces inspire curiosity, ownership, and initiative? What is needed to support our students to do the work of a historian? What is the role of the schedule in our student’s building good mental habits and encountering the key ideas of history? Using a favorite article from the Parents’ Review, we read, narrate, and then discuss how knowing our aims and thinking through some simple logistics can help us toward lively, delightful lessons. This session also includes more hands-on work with an immersion in lesson prep. Through this work, we see how embracing “high thinking” and “the simplest, directest living” helps us become not just mere instructors but true educators. The workshop materials include lists of ideas for beginning a lesson, ending a lesson, and more practical helps.

Time and Eternity: High School History with Amy Snell

In this final talk, we tackle the high school years: how students’ history studies continue to expand as they mature, how they offer more ways for students to work out eternal truths, how Mason’s living approach equips a student to encounter life. These larger questions are considered through concrete examples from assigned texts and exams from the CMEC programs. Through these, we see firsthand the students’ broad program full of living (and differing!) voices and the depth and detail of high school history spines. And samples of student writing demonstrate how students grow in style and the ability to sift and sort ideas as they embrace the work of the historian. With that in mind, we explore in this session what it looks like to serve as guide, philosopher and friend—how do we adopt a posture of masterly inactivity as we support our students in a lifelong pursuit of knowledge? And we also see how central relationship is in the work of education, learning and practicing good judgment together, and practicing justice in thought towards one another. We close by considering a passage from Parents’ Review writer H.W. Household, who speaks beautifully on this calling and its possibilities, and encourages us to “look to the Dawn.” This session includes some inspiring paintings to close the retreat.

HANDBOOK

                                     

Our 120-page Retreat Handbook, artistically designed and full of inspiration, includes a guide to the retreat and resources for the mother-teacher aiming at an education oriented toward self-education and including a broad and varied approach to history.

Our Workshop Notes contain all of the quotes shared in our talks, allowing you to follow along or revisit later.

Our Resources & Immersion Materials section includes both materials for the hands-on work we will be doing together during the retreat and supplemental materials to help you put these methods into practice at home or in the classroom. They cover the structure of the Mason lesson, lesson preparation, narration ideas for history, discussion and composition topics, guidance for notebook work, tips for effective weekly meetings, and more.

The "Time & Eternity Reader" is a special, extensive collection of articles from the Parents' Review, many of which are only publicly available in this handbook. We chose the articles that most clearly reflected Mason’s approach to history and her thoughts on self-education for the student and masterly inactivity for the teacher. They are full of both sound philosophy and practical advice from Mason’s closest colleagues.

USE AT HOME or WITH A GROUP!

We hope this retreat can provide an at-home option for those who aren't able to get away to a retreat this year or who want an additional burst of education and encouragement in the work of parenting and homeschooling. Treat yourself with the package or simply invest in the package as part of your ongoing teacher training! This retreat is also appropriate for couples to listen to together.

Our individual rate for full access to the retreat package is $40.

Once you purchase, you will receive access to the Downloads page, where you can choose to stream the audios and view the PDFs online, or to download them to your device.

We also suggest the retreat package for groups! The format of this retreat allows for group study in several different ways:

• Host an event to listen through the recordings all at once together, similar to the retreat's original setting. The package offers over seven hours of audio content as well as guidance for notebook work and discussion during or between sessions.
• Study in a group over the course of seven/eight weeks or months, meeting to listen together to one audio at a time.
• Spread the audios out over seven/eight weeks or months, but have members listen at home and come together ready to discuss. This allows each member to listen on her own time and is the easiest method to organize.

Experiencing the retreat as a group will offer members shared language and ideas to take your group forward over the course of the following months and years.

The Handbook also provides meaty content for continued study, including several never-before-published Parents' Review articles that would make excellent reading for an ongoing Mason event after you have listened through the retreat. You could easily plan a year's worth of study for your group using just the talks and handbook.

You can read our suggestions for group study of the retreat package here.  

We offer groups of five or more a 50%-off discount, bringing the cost to just $20 for each member to have full access to the package.

If you are interested in studying the retreat in a group setting, please email support@thecmec.org for more details about the purchase process.

Your purchase benefits the CMEC, a nonprofit collaboration of parents and teachers dedicated to spreading Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education and implementing her practices in homes and schools.

MORE ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS

Celeste Cruz

Celeste lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their eleven children. With a graduate degree in English and a background in European humanities and art history, she has taught literature and writing in classroom and small group settings. She discovered Charlotte Mason before her children were born and has enthusiastically studied her philosophy ever since, but her most rewarding experience has been putting that philosophy into practice with her own children at home. Besides organizing a local Mason group, she shares the joys of home education at Joyous Lessons and @celeste_cruz, speaks at retreats and conferences nationwide, and serves as a director at the CMEC.

Amy Snell

With a graduate degree in literature from the University of California-Irvine, Amy taught in a variety of classroom environments. She then discovered Charlotte Mason, whose philosophy quickly convinced her to begin homeschooling. As her family thrived using Mason’s methods and grew to include five children, Amy wanted to share and learn more about Mason’s philosophy with others, including speaking at national conferences and local retreats, hosting Mason book discussions and workshops for parents, running a Nature Study Club, facilitating Truth, Beauty, Goodness afternoons, and creating the Mason Academy as director, teacher, and parent. Amy now serves as the Board President of the Charlotte Mason Educational Center and heads our curriculum team and community projects. You can find Amy on Instagram @learninghowtolivecm.

To purchase the CMEC 2024 Retreat Package as an individual , click on the product below!

If you would like more information about purchasing as a group of five or more or for an event, please contact us for instructions.