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OPTION #2 Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

Christmas Classic Literature Study

Nothing makes my mouth salivate more than the idea of an upcoming Christmas… except maybe classic literature. And ice cream. But ice cream isn’t relevant to this conversation, so we’ll stick with Christmas and classic literature. There is something so beautiful and captivating for all ages about a piece of classic literature accenting the holiday season. It almost can’t even be put into words. It’s like the beauty of a white Christmas morning alongside a gentle crackle of a fireplace that will perfectly accent your Christmas season. There… I put it into words. 🙂

A lot of parents like to gift books to their children at Christmas time, but this year we challenge you to gift one a bit early, along with our beautifully captivating Charles Dickens Classic Literature study. Give your child the gift of A Christmas Carol, and watch their wonder and amazement shine this Christmas season.

THAT’S THE GIST.  THE REST OF THIS DESCRIPTION IS MORE OF A BLOG-ISH ENTRY, EXPLAINING OUR PASSION AND PURPOSE BEHIND THIS OPTION.  IF YOU WANT, YOU CAN READ IT, OR YOU CAN SKIP TO OPTION #3 THAT FOLLOWS.

Did you know that one of the best ways to read a wonderful classic work with your children is…. DRUM ROLL… just to READ it? Nothing more, nothing less. Simple, but true. One of the best ways to ruin a person’s love of classic literature and stunt their growth in independent observation is… DRUM ROLL… a guided book study.

Wait; isn’t this product a book study? Well, yes… yes, it is. But it’s not the kind we were talking about up there in that paragraph above. The one up there that says, “DRUM ROLL” as if we were making you hold your breath for what came next.

See, we’ve all done the standard public school English Literature approach of “consume this, dissect it, chew it up, and spit it out.” Forgot what that was like, already? Here, let’s remind you:

• First, you get a chapter summary
• Then you share the who/what/when/where, plot line
• Then, a few “guided discussion questions”
• Then make your predictions and analysis.
• Then, if you’ve got a really boring teacher who loves to kill a passion for the classics, you get to re-read the chapter and over analyze something that was never intended by the author himself to be over analyzed (and this is coming from us–and we love analyzing and symbolism)
• Then you get vocab words spoon fed to you, and you are done for the day!
• Oh, and then you get to repeat all of it again when the next chapter begins

I mean, think about this… how would you feel if you had a dessert at a restaurant and every bite you took, the waiter was there, asking, “What did it taste like? Was it sweet? Was it tart? What texture would you say the crust was? Why do you think the chef chose to put the sauce under the dessert instead of on top? How much longer do you predict you will have until it’s gone?” Surely, you would scarf the thing down and not enjoy it at all, if only for the sake of getting him to stop and the questions to end! Sure, you’d love to analyze the dessert and maybe even share it with others, learn more about it, and guess how to make it on your own… but NOT like that.

I’ll be the first to admit, I LOVE English Lit. AP English Literature & Comp was one of my favorite classes in high school—ever! AND (hold up your jaw for just a moment), I was public schooled when I was in the class. It’s okay; you can uncover your kids’ ears, now. It’s safe.

See, I also have to admit I had the most amazing teacher who embraced Charlotte Mason’s approach to education. Yes, you read that correctly: a public school teacher embraced modern homeschooling methods and Charlotte Mason ideologies. Mrs. B was the most desired teacher in our entire school system, and it felt like you won the lottery when she was chosen at random by some computer system to be your teacher for the year. Kids would all crowd around, waiting on the list to be released, and—ignoring all else—would run down their schedule looking for that glorious name: “Mrs. B.” (We always got our schedule during orientation, the night before school began, and there were thousands of students, so chances were slim).

…That night, I was one of the winners.

I never knew what classic literature meant before her. I will forever be indebted to her for refusing to do it the “normal” and “textbook” way that every other teacher and every other unit study or curriculum does it. Mrs. B. is the inspiration for this unit. We are going to guide this book study the way she did it all those years ago.

Our book study will be different. It will be gentle, light, CM inspired (and Mrs. B inspired). It will invoke a love of classic literature in exciting ways that other book studies just don’t. It will be perfectly done in the Campfire Method.

We won’t spoil you by sharing all the details, now, but it’s going to be incredible and SIMPLE and perfect.

High school students may use this toward literature credits (and other school subjects with core connections).

Younger students may use this to open their eyes to a brand new world of classic Christmas literature this lovely holiday season.

*There will be faith and the true meaning of Christmas incorporated in Faith Talks.