Shows
Making The LeapThe Charlotte Mason Method w/ Maryellen St. CyrChris and Christine discuss Charlotte Mason’s method of education with Ambleside Schools International Founder Maryellen St. Cyr.In 1989, Maryellen began to search for a philosophically and pedagogically consistent method of Christian education. She found just such a method in the writings of British educator, Charlotte Mason. Maryellen has since become one of the country’s leading experts on Charlotte Mason’s pedagogy and was a primary author of the book, When Children Love to Learn.In 2000, Maryellen founded Ambleside School of Fredericksburg, Texas, providing children with a Charlotte Mason education and serving as a center...
2023-09-2246 min
BaseCamp LiveMaryellen St. Cyr on How to Teach WellClassical Christian schools are on the rise, and most have impressive reading lists and ambitious goals of graduates, but how are teachers trained to teach? Most of us teach how we were taught, which can be a challenge when we didn't grow up in a classical Christian school environment. Today, my guest, Maryellen St Cyr, is back on BaseCamp Live to bring practical wisdom from her years of founding and leading the Ambleside Schools based on Charlotte Mason's approach to raising and educating children of all ages.BIOGRAPHYMaryellen St. Cyr, Director of Curriculum at...
2021-05-1142 min
Mystery of the Four Fingers, The by WHITE, Fred M.The Art of Narration - Defined and Demonstrated with Maryellen St. CyrCharlotte Mason called narration the ground-plan of education. Maryellen St.Cyr instructs in this art of telling back with students of varied ages. See how students exhibit the power of narration as they have read/listened to a single reading with attention and concentration and "have in every case reproduced what they have read in narration"
This is a series of Videos demonstrating Narration the videos demonstrations are located here.
2018-06-0704 min
Ambleside Flourish PodcastThe Art of Narration - Defined and Demonstrated with Maryellen St. CyrCharlotte Mason called narration the ground-plan of education. Maryellen St.Cyr instructs in this art of telling back with students of varied ages. See how students exhibit the power of narration as they have read/listened to a single reading with attention and concentration and "have in every case reproduced what they have read in narration"
This is a series of Videos demonstrating Narration the videos demonstrations are located here.
2018-06-0704 minMystery of the Four Fingers, The by WHITE, Fred M.Educating with the Brain in Mind Seminar Maryellen Marschke St. Cyr"Charlotte Mason used the analogy as food for the mind as food for the body. What are we eating? What are our children eating? What is their mind food? Not just in the hours of school but in the hours of home. What are they feasting upon? Or what are they starving for?" ~Maryellen Marschke St. Cyr Educating With the Brain in Mind
Maryellen Marschke St. Cyr M.Ed. A professional educator for more than 30 years, Maryellen St. Cyr has spent thousands of hours in the classroom and hundreds of hours observing other educators. Possessing a passion for a congruent, li...
2018-05-2455 min
Ambleside Flourish PodcastEducating with the Brain in Mind Seminar Maryellen Marschke St. Cyr"Charlotte Mason used the analogy as food for the mind as food for the body. What are we eating? What are our children eating? What is their mind food? Not just in the hours of school but in the hours of home. What are they feasting upon? Or what are they starving for?" ~Maryellen Marschke St. Cyr Educating With the Brain in Mind
Maryellen Marschke St. Cyr M.Ed. A professional educator for more than 30 years, Maryellen St. Cyr has spent thousands of hours in the classroom and hundreds of hours observing other educators. Possessing a passion fo...
2018-05-2455 minMystery of the Four Fingers, The by WHITE, Fred M.Method of a Lesson Part 2The Method of the Lesson, as described by Charlotte Mason, is marked by five steps. Bill and Maryellen St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, continue discussing the of the Method of the Lesson, describing the reading of an episode, narration, and the second talk. While the teacher points to ideas in the text, the children must do the work of thinking and learning.
”The children themselves must do the mental work. They must engage their minds - they must do the attending; they must do the reflecting; they must make use of the ideas.
2018-05-1010 minMystery of the Four Fingers, The by WHITE, Fred M.Education is 99% Habits and 1% Knowledge with Maryellen St. Cyr Part 2 [BASECAMP Live]Classical Christian parents and educators are fond of saying “education is more than information – it is formation”… but what does formation really look like in a practical way? 100 years ago British educator Charlotte Mason wrote on how affections and habits are formed, noting what neuroscientists are now claiming as a new discovery!
Maryellen St. Cyr went through a dramatic shift in her understanding of education after spending time researching the British educator Charlotte Mason and now runs 21 schools around the world based on this philosophy of education. Mason’s insights on how children learn and how thoughts and affections are formed is a...
2018-05-0721 min
Ambleside Flourish PodcastEducation is 99% Habits and 1% Knowledge with Maryellen St. Cyr Part 2 [BASECAMP Live]Classical Christian parents and educators are fond of saying “education is more than information – it is formation”… but what does formation really look like in a practical way? 100 years ago British educator Charlotte Mason wrote on how affections and habits are formed, noting what neuroscientists are now claiming as a new discovery!
Maryellen St. Cyr went through a dramatic shift in her understanding of education after spending time researching the British educator Charlotte Mason and now runs 21 schools around the world based on this philosophy of education. Mason’s insights on how children learn and how thoughts and affecti...
2018-05-0721 minMystery of the Four Fingers, The by WHITE, Fred M.Education is 99% Habits and 1% Knowledge with Maryellen St. Cyr Part 1 [BASECAMP Live]Classical Christian parents and educators are fond of saying “education is more than information – it is formation”… but what does formation really look like in a practical way? 100 years ago British educator Charlotte Mason wrote on how affections and habits are formed, noting what neuroscientists are now claiming as a new discovery!
Maryellen St. Cyr went through a dramatic shift in her understanding of education after spending time researching the British educator Charlotte Mason and now runs 21 schools around the world based on this philosophy of education. Mason’s insights on how children learn and how thoughts and affections are formed is a...
2018-04-3024 minAmbleside Flourish PodcastEducation is 99% Habits and 1% Knowledge with Maryellen St. Cyr Part 1 [BASECAMP Live]Classical Christian parents and educators are fond of saying “education is more than information – it is formation”… but what does formation really look like in a practical way? 100 years ago British educator Charlotte Mason wrote on how affections and habits are formed, noting what neuroscientists are now claiming as a new discovery!
Maryellen St. Cyr went through a dramatic shift in her understanding of education after spending time researching the British educator Charlotte Mason and now runs 21 schools around the world based on this philosophy of education. Mason’s insights on how children learn and how thoughts and affecti...
2018-04-3024 minMystery of the Four Fingers, The by WHITE, Fred M.Cultivating Relationships with LearningIn many school environments, children have to choose between subjects, and they are often drawn only to subjects they like. Charlotte Mason thought it should be otherwise. She envisioned an educational feast in which students develop wide relationships with this world. She called it our Great Inheritance. “As is often the case in traditional settings, people grow in the areas that they’re already interested in. And yet, what we’ve seen at Ambleside, is real joy and real delight in learning in a varied array of subjects.” Bill and Maryellen St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, discuss the delight of child...
2018-04-2607 minMystery of the Four Fingers, The by WHITE, Fred M.Building the Passion to KnowIs the true goal of education to learn? Or is it to win a prize and impress others? “Build the character; build the love for learning; build the passion to know; build the discipline to work well – [and] all of that takes care of itself.” Ambleside Schools curriculum includes 16-17 subjects, following Charlotte Mason’s idea of the importance of giving children as many relationships as possible at the very beginning of their lives. Bill and Maryellen St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, discuss how to direct students’ minds toward learning. “As a school, we’ve got to be very intentional ab...
2018-04-1905 min
BaseCamp LiveTHE BACKSIDE: Education is 99% Habits - Maryellen St. CyrKeep listening to our conversation about training habits of learning and what Charlotte Mason discovered 100 years ago that still works today. Maryellen St. Cyr of Ambleside Schools and David Goodwin, president of the ACCS, join us.
Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at info@basecamplive.comDon't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.
2018-04-0721 min
BaseCamp LiveEducation is 99% Habits and 1% Knowledge - Maryellen St. CyrWe are fond of saying in classical Christian school circles that "education is more than information, it is formation"… but what does formation really look like in a practical way? Maryellen St. Cyr of Ambleside Schools explains how Charlotte Mason answers that question and more… stay tuned.
Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at info@basecamplive.comDon't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.
2018-04-0627 minMystery of the Four Fingers, The by WHITE, Fred M.Cultivating TastesCultivating children’s tastes and directing their affections toward what is good, true, and beautiful begins with the development of deeply satisfying relationships with worthy literature, music, art, and more, as well as with a consistent habit of working well. “The atmosphere, the way in which work is talked about, the way in which work is engaged… that will communicate everything to a child about they will relate, how they should relate to work. In a place where hard work is normal, . . . where sweat is part of life, and when staying on task even when head and hand are tired is a g...
2018-03-0113 min
Ambleside Flourish PodcastMethod of a Lesson Part 2The Method of the Lesson, as described by Charlotte Mason, is marked by five steps. Bill and Maryellen St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, continue discussing the of the Method of the Lesson, describing the reading of an episode, narration, and the second talk. While the teacher points to ideas in the text, the children must do the work of thinking and learning.
”The children themselves must do the mental work. They must engage their minds - they must do the attending; they must do the reflecting; they must make use of the ideas.
2018-02-2110 minAmbleside Flourish PodcastCultivating Relationships with LearningIn many school environments, children have to choose between subjects, and they are often drawn only to subjects they like. Charlotte Mason thought it should be otherwise. She envisioned an educational feast in which students develop wide relationships with this world. She called it our Great Inheritance. “As is often the case in traditional settings, people grow in the areas that they’re already interested in. And yet, what we’ve seen at Ambleside, is real joy and real delight in learning in a varied array of subjects.” Bill and Maryellen St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, discuss the delight...
2018-02-1907 minAmbleside Flourish PodcastBuilding the Passion to KnowIs the true goal of education to learn? Or is it to win a prize and impress others? “Build the character; build the love for learning; build the passion to know; build the discipline to work well – [and] all of that takes care of itself.” Ambleside Schools curriculum includes 16-17 subjects, following Charlotte Mason’s idea of the importance of giving children as many relationships as possible at the very beginning of their lives. Bill and Maryellen St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, discuss how to direct students’ minds toward learning. “As a school, we’ve got to be very intention...
2018-02-1805 minAmbleside Flourish PodcastCultivating TastesCultivating children’s tastes and directing their affections toward what is good, true, and beautiful begins with the development of deeply satisfying relationships with worthy literature, music, art, and more, as well as with a consistent habit of working well. “The atmosphere, the way in which work is talked about, the way in which work is engaged… that will communicate everything to a child about they will relate, how they should relate to work. In a place where hard work is normal, . . . where sweat is part of life, and when staying on task even when head and hand are tired...
2018-02-1113 minAmbleside Flourish PodcastThe Teacher and the AtmosphereThe role of the teacher or parent in setting a classroom atmosphere of joy and order hinges on the nature of authority between the adult and the students. Does the teacher lead with an authoritarian or authoritative role? The authoritarian teacher leads by anxious and controlling means, setting an unpredictable and fragile atmosphere that squelches a student’s love of learning, desire for growth, and sense of joy and peace. The authoritative teacher, as described by Charlotte Mason in School Education, leads as a person authorized by another, with immovable fixed principles in all matters of importance. Proper authoritative lea...
2018-02-0807 minAmbleside Flourish PodcastHow Atmosphere Sets Our AffectionsAs you listen, use our study guides to assist you in making meaningful connections and increasing comprehension and memory.
Our affections, our desires and motivations, are set by our community, family, or tribe. Atmosphere has a powerful influence in setting these affections; affections are caught, not taught. Bill and Maryellen St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, discuss the subtle, yet potent role atmosphere plays in the heart and mind of a child. “When you go into a school… you ask, ‘What is lifted up here? What does the atmosphere say is desirable, is worthy, is worth having, worth pu...
2018-01-2907 minAmbleside Flourish PodcastThe Foundations of JoyAs you listen, use our study guides to assist you in making meaningful connections and increasing comprehension and memory.
Chapter 1: The Foundation of Joy from Ambleside Schools International on Vimeo.
One of the most important responsibilities of a teacher is to set an atmosphere of joy in the classroom. The sense of joy is non-verbal, “in the air and breathed in” by the children – it’s what Charlotte Mason called Atmosphere. Bill and Maryellen St. Cyr, of Ambleside Schools International, discuss the difference between happiness and developing a deep sense of joy. Often when people visit Amble...
2018-01-2806 min