Mason education. I love what Ms. Mason
said about studying history:
“The object of children’s literary studies is
not to give them precise information as to
who wrote what in the reign of whom?—but
to give them a sense of the spaciousness of
the days, not only of great Elizabeth, but
of all those times of which poets, historians
and the makers of tales, have left us living
pictures. In such ways the children secure,
not the sort of information which is of little cultural value, but wide spaces wherein
imagination may take those holiday excursions deprived of which life is dreary . . . Every man is called upon to be a statesman
seeing that every man and woman, too, has
a share in the government of the country;
but statesmanship requires imaginative
conceptions, formed upon pretty wide reading and some familiarity with historical
precedents.”—Charlotte Mason
5
The study of history lends itself well to
incorporating reading aloud with your
child. There are numerous benefits to reading aloud to all children so include older
siblings when you read to your preschooler.
You will build memories and encourage sibling bonding. Reading expert Jim Trelease,
author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, says,
“Every time we read to a child, we’re sending a ‘pleasure’ message to the child’s brain,
conditioning the child to associate books
and print with pleasure.”
6
Tina Rice is a veteran homeschooler of 22
years. Three of her four children graduated
homeschool, and her baby is a sophomore.
Tina is the owner of Tina’s Tie Dye (www.Tinas
TieDye.com) and the author of Exploring
Color and Science with Tie Dye—a fun tie-dye-based science unit study. She and her husband Tim run a small publishing company.
Tina and Tim use an eclectic mix of Classical
and relaxed educational materials. You can
reach her at www.facebook.com/tinastiedye.
Endnotes:
1. https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Navigation/
Community/Arcadia-and-THP-Blog/May-2016/5-
Important-Reasons-to-Teach-Your-Kids-American
-Hi
2. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/history
3. http://www.home-school.com/Articles/history-for-
preschoolers.php
4
http://www.themeasuredmom.com/teach-kids-about-history-even-preschoolers-can-learn/
5. http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com/2009/07/
history.html
6. http://www.readaloud.org/why.html
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
