This is a belated It’s Friday post where I share snippets of what we’ve been doing in our Charlotte Mason High School curriculum.

One of my daughter’s favourite books this year is The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer but because it covers so much, she finds it difficult to narrate, so I suggested she write a newspaper-style ‘report’ on some of the events the author discusses.

These are two samples of her narrations:

Another book that we’re using is In The Steps of St. Paul by H.V. Morton. It’s also proving a little difficult to narrate. Sometimes this may mean that a book isn’t ‘living’ but this book certainly is. Narrowing the focus rather than trying to attempt a big picture narration has helped. For example, Morton related the story of St. Thecla, one of the most famous of all Greek saints so Miss M used this as a narrative focus.

In Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis retold or reinterpreted the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Instead of a direct retelling/narration of Lewis’ story, she retold a different myth (Persephone & Hades) following the style of Lewis’ writing.

These more ‘creative’ styles of composition (narration) are in keeping with Charlotte Mason’s philosophy and often provide the spark for getting a student to write. Examples may be found in her books School Education, pg. 271 and A Philosophy of Education, pg. 195.