Bringing Charlotte Mason to Sunday School with Min Jung Hwang

Transcript

Our goal in sharing selected talks from past CMI conferences is to foster deeper engagement within the Charlotte Mason community. By providing access to these enriching discussions, we hope to inspire reflection, growth, and a renewed commitment to the principles of a Charlotte Mason education. Each talk is a valuable resource for educators and parents alike, offering insights, encouragement, and practical wisdom to help guide the next generation in a life filled with curiosity, wonder, and learning.

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Intro

Welcome. I am so excited to be able to share with you my experiences, my thoughts, my plans on a living Charlotte Mason Sunday school. And I've titled this talk “Give Them the Best” because that is really my heart behind this and the reason why I implemented a Charlotte Mason Sunday school for our Church's children several years ago. So this is what we're going to go through together today. I hope we can go through all of it. 

The vision: Why are we doing this? Assessment of our current program. How do we do this? How do we want to go about implementing this vision and inspiring our church and our leadership. Feast: What and how do we serve the different dishes? As you know, Charlotte Mason talks about spreading the feast. So, how are we going to do this in a children's ministry Sunday school setting? And then at the very end I wanted to answer some frequently asked questions that I've been receiving over the years.

Vision

So let's get started with our vision. I think with anything we have to keep a vision or an end in view so that we know why we're doing this and especially when we have those tough Sundays. It's important to remember, why are we doing this? And this is just some of the thoughts that went through my head as I was putting together a vision for our children's ministry. What is the current structure? And why do I think it's not enough or why do I think it's not the best for our children? Because again, we want to give them the very best that we can with our, sometimes for some of us limited, resources. And I also want to consider the word “and”; sometimes we think it has to be one structure or program or another whereas I think many times we could give both. 

"We have to keep a vision or an end in view so that we know why we're doing this."

So for example in our church, I think it's very important for the children to experience that time in the congregation which with their you know Body of Christ at large and for the members of our church the adults to be able to see the children and to pray for the children and be involved in some way with the children and their spiritual journey as well. So in our church our children join us in the beginning for the praise and worship time at the start with their parents and then they are prayed for by the pastor and the congregation before they're sent off for their own Bible Lesson time. So that's what we do. I like to use the word “and” whenever I can because we want to give them the best of both worlds. 

"This is a way for your children to also be a part of the Great Commission."

And I just want to also share that one of my motivations was even though I myself am a Charlotte Mason homeschool mom and my children get to have these Bible lessons every single day with me. It's not just about my children. And this for me is an incredible opportunity to be able to extend this feast and this time in the Living Word of God with other children and to be able to invest in the lives of other children and their family actually their parents as well. So it's just this beautiful open invitation and an honor and a privilege so that also drives me in putting together this Sunday School curriculum. I want to also say that this is a way to involve your children in the Great Commission. So again, your children may be getting this Charlotte Mason Bible lesson every morning, but what about their friends? What about their Church mates? What about their friends from sports that they want to include and invite? So this is a way for your children to also be a part of the Great Commission.

Lastly, we want to make the most of every opportunity. This is such a precious time. In our church it's basically one hour and I'll show you exactly how that hour is used and it goes by so quickly. But it's such a precious hour that I get with my church's children every Sunday. So these are the things that I'm keeping in mind. Now, I know that sometimes we we don't do this but I want you to stop and dream, just dream about what you would love to see and write it down. There's something about writing it down and putting it in ink in front of you. If you had limitless resources, if you had the whole backing of your church leadership dream about the kind of children's ministry, you would want for your Church's children, including your own children, right? So, start to put those down on paper. And as you do so, I'm going to share with you some  of the things that I personally considered as I began to dream several years ago.

Keeping the End in View

Here we go. First of all, as I said, we need to keep the end in view and we need to dream about what that end is what I mean by end is when they graduate from the children's ministry into the youth ministry. So for our church, that's at the end of fifth grade when the Children are about 10 or 11 years old. So what is my hope and prayer? What is your hope and prayer for that 10 or 11 year old in your church. So one of the things would be Bible knowledge, right, you want to them to know at least the basic stories of the Bible. To cultivate spiritual friendships that they would walk with these friends for the long haul. I deeply desire that for my children for your children that they would meet Jesus. This is probably our primary prayer that they would meet Jesus and nurture a personal relationship with him. That they would come to have a love for the word of God and that they would recognize the presence of God in their life as well as his faithfulness over the years. However short the years may be. Because they're probably only 10 or 11 at this point, but that they would see his faithfulness. And that lastly they would develop a loyalty to their King and we'll talk a little bit more about that later because this is a thought that Charlotte Mason brings up in her first volume. 

Biblical Worldview

I wanted to stress this one because of just the state and the current condition of things right now how incredibly important it is for us to intentionally give our children a Biblical worldview. I love this quotes one of my favorite quotes when I think about Bible lessons Charlotte Mason, by the way, all of the references are written at the bottom so you could always go back to these quotes of hers. I also include them in here so that you could include them in your proposal or plan with your elders or your leadership. Okay. So let's read this together.

"But let the imaginations of children be stored with the pictures, their minds nourished upon the words, of the gradually unfolding story of the scriptures, and they will come to look out upon a wide horizon within which persons and events take shape in their due place and in due proportion. By degrees, they will see that the world is a stage whereon on the goodness of God is continually striving with the willfulness of man; and some heroic men take sides with God and that others, foolish and headstrong, oppose themselves to Him. The fire of enthusiasm will kindle in their breast and the children too will take their side without much exhortation or any thought or talk of spiritual experience."
~Charlotte Mason Vol 1, p.249

So as we keep the end in view.

"Therefore let the minds of young children be well stored with the beautiful narratives of the early portions of the Old Testament and of the Gospels. We are considering not the religious life of children, but their education by lessons and their Bible lessons should help them to realize in early days that the knowledge of God is the principle knowledge and, therefore, that their Bible lessons are their chief lessons."
~Charlotte Mason Vol 1, p.250-1

We know probably these quotes very well and have used them many times in our own homeschools. But this is what we want also for the children of our church that they will know that the Bible and the knowledge of God is their principal knowledge and that their Sunday school hour is a very important time.

Just wanted to add this in there some thoughts to keep in mind. I know sometimes we can get really narrowly focused on just the Sunday school program, but it really helps us to have a right mindset when it comes to developing that curriculum or program or making choices in our resources. So I wanted to bring these words of Charlotte Mason up again when it comes to how we think about children (from Vol 1 p.20). Because it affects our methods right?

• Offend not, which means when we do by them that which we ought not to have done.
• Despise not, when we leave undone those things which for their sakes we ought to have done.
• And hinder not, to overlook and make light of his natural relationship with almighty God as in the child's natural relationship and longing for God.
• As Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me," (Matthew 19:14) as if that were the natural thing for the children to do. The thing they do when they are not hindered by their elders and perhaps it is not too beautiful a thing to believe in this redeemed world that the hearts of the children turn to their Savior and God with unconscious delight and trust.

On hard days when it seems like you're not seeing any fruit, this is gonna get you through. It's not gonna be through a lot of outward show or outward exhortation, but know that these children are born persons. They have a soul. They have an innate longing for God and there are things going on that we may not see but the holy spirit is doing.

Asking for a Vision

So let's ask the Lord for a vision and I mean this I mean stop even now if you want to pause this right now and dream, pray, ask God for the vision for the children's ministry of your church. Each children's ministry is going to be unique because God has placed you in the demographic in the location that is placed you right now and the local Body of Christ that He has placed you right now in the season. So we need to each do this and come before him. I'm going to share my vision and Mission, but again, this is mine. This is what the Lord gave us for our particular Church.

Having to give you the vision for yours. So this is our vision: "Partnering with parents to nourish the spiritual life of their child so that the child may know Jesus, enjoy a personal loyal relationship with him, and find Delight in His word."

I put that first where it says partnering with parents because that is incredibly important in I think everywhere but in our demographic. Just with the busyness of life and many of the parents in my church are not homeschooling parents. They are very busy. You know, they're a double income family. Where both are working out of the home for the most part. So being able to keep the  parents in mind to partner with them and to nourish and support and encourage them is very important to me. 

This is the mission of our children's ministry.

• To bring through knowledge of God the hearts of the children and love and loyalty towards Him.
• To help the children cultivate genuine spiritual friendships with one another.
• To encourage support and journey alongside parents in nurturing a home atmosphere that is sensitive to the presence of God.
• To reach the unreached children and their families in our community and beyond.

So I'm sharing these with you just as an example. I don't mind if you take these and tweak it to to fit your special and specific Church.

The Time is Now

I probably don't need to mention this but I'm gonna mention it just so that we get that little bit of motivation that the time is now. Many of our young adults drop out of the church. They once they leave the home, they don't join a local Body of Christ and that is very disheartening. Nothing much has changed. This was back in 2017 where they found only 66 percent. No wait a second. I think that's 66% who have dropped out. So that's 34% that have remained and nothing much had changed in the past 10 years because they had done a survey ten years before.

So why is this so important? Why are we doing this you and I? Because we get to participate in what God is doing right now with our children, with the next generation.

And it’s so exciting when I think of it this way. That God has invited us to help turn the tide. Don't we want to see this number drop? So let's join with him and turning the tide and being prayerful very intentional very purposeful in how we are using our one hour or three hours or our Sunday or if you have a weekday event. Whatever time you have with your Church's children.

Before we move into the development of the curriculum and the actual aspects and different components of our time together with our children. I thought it would be great for us to just spend some time assessing. Because this will again help us to create that Vision create that mission which will all feed into what we're going to propose to our church leadership. 

Assess

So when I'm assessing a program it including the one that I've created every year I like to go back and assess it I ask myself to what end this certain component or time spent in a certain way to what end do I have that in there. Should it still be in there? Is it moving us and driving us to our vision and our mission. When the child graduates from children's ministry at age 10 or 11? What do we want them to be equipped with what do we want them to have to own to possess does the current curriculum align with that and does it align with therefore our vision and Mission. And lastly, how do we measure? That's really hard but I'll share a few things with you. How do we measure?

This is one of the assessments that I like to use when I'm assessing and measuring what is happening in our children's ministry Charlotte Mason says,

“In the first place, It does not rest with the teacher to choose whether he will or will not attempt to quicken and nourish this divine life in his child or student in our case. To do so is his bounden duty and service, but what can the teacher do? Just this, and no more, he can present the idea of God to the soul of the child.”
~ Vol 1, p.343-4

I love these words of Charlotte Mason because it reminds me that again, I'm not the showman. I'm not the one who causes anything to sprout or to grow necessarily in the child. That is the work of God, but what I can do and what I've been given to do the duty that I've been given in this very honored position and humble position as a teacher in the Sunday school is to present the idea of God.

And then here she says,

“We are apt to believe that children cannot  be interested in the Bible unless it's pages be watered down turned into slip-shot English. We prefer to offer them.We are probably quite incapable of measuring the religious receptivity of children. Nevertheless their fitness to apprehend the deep things of God is a fact with which we are called to deal prudently and to deal reverently.”
Vol 1, p.247-8

Again another just check upon myself and for our teachers. Are we giving them something that is watered down? Are we despising them and thinking that they're incapable of understanding truths of God, which Jesus says is otherwise doesn't he? He says let the children come to me and are we dealing with them? Are we dealing with the word of God in a prudent and reverent manner?

Measurements (by Age 11)

So these are just some things to think about as we assess the current program. Some measurements again, like I said, it's so hard to measure but just having some measurements in mind. It just for myself at least it kind of helps me in my assessment. Are we continuing to move in this direction? So I'll just read these to you and provide them to you as an example. 

1. Do they know all of the major Bible stories from the Old Testament and this is not the gospels and are they able to retell them or as Charlotte Mason's words? We would say narrate.
2. Be able to beautifully recite a minimum of 10 major passages from the scriptures and you could add here Apostles Creed or whatever else is very important to your faith.
3. Will have gained a reference for the word of God.
4. Demonstrate inductive skills and bible study observing asking appropriate questions and applying the text to his life. This would be for our older children, right, the children that are close to graduating 10 or 11 years old.
5. Have developed the skill of narration and recitation as well as gain stride and habits of attention and best effort. Have you have you thought about the habits? Habit training for Sunday school.
6. Have gained a collection of pictures from the Great Masters in the art gallery of their mind.

So, that's it for some of the things that we can think about and look at for assessing our current program. And in what we're going to adopt in the future.

Feast: What Do We Serve?

Now what exactly comprises our Sunday school program, what comprises that hour or two hours that you have with these precious children? What are we serving in this feast? So these are some of the entrees that I try to serve in that precious time that I have with our children. First and foremost

• Bible Lesson with Narration and then discussion.
• Pictures, Illustrations, or maps - which not all they're not always there but whatever I could find that is appropriate.
• Recitation, scripture, poetry, hymns, Apostles Creed.
• Hymn singing and other Bible songs, or if you have a children's choir, if you have somebody who could start a children's choir that's wonderful.
• Nature study with brush drawing, nature journaling.
• Other handicrafts.
• And I just put in brackets there just for us to keep in the back of our mind (Family Care and support) again because we want to partner with the parents.

Schedule (60 min)

Here is an example of what a 60 minute time might look like.

• 5 min - Singing & Recitation
• 5 min- Bible Reading
• 10 min - Narration
• 10 min -Discussion
• 10 min - Picture Study
• 20 min - Compassion Project

So starting off with singing and recitation. Usually because our children they move from the congregation the sanctuary over to their classes. So after that, it's really great to have a time of singing with motions and movement and recitation and just sort of begin to quiet their hearts for the Bible reading. Then we have our narration. And in our classes, we are small enough in each class. I tried to keep the ratio between teacher and children small enough, so that each child has a turn to narrate whether you go one at a time. Whether you do in a chronological fashion through the children, so they're all so gaining strides and habit of attention and listening to the students before them. Or whether you come to each child individually and have them to narrate to you quietly. And then a time of discussion, let’s not forget this and then we have our, if appropriate pictures can be found picture study. As well as maps, Bible maps, and whatnot. We'll talk more about this later. And then I have for our handicraft time what I call a compassion project and I'll share more about that as we get to it. 

Bible Lesson

What does the Bible Lesson itself the Bible reading time look like I love how Charlotte Mason always sort of spreads it out. So clearly for us. In Volume 6 p.162-3, she says that between ages of six and twelve children cover the whole of the Old Testament story prophets being introduced as they come into connection with Kings. The teacher opens the lesson by reading the passage. In this example, she's talking about the Patterson Smith commenters. You don't necessarily have to use them and not always is there something appropriate for you to read directly from it?. But if there is a commentary in there that is, you know aligns with your lesson your passage of scripture for the day and you can read directly from it, she encourages you to do so. And then there are some talk or discussion about this commentary passage that you've read. Then the teacher will read the Bible passage from your Bible in question, which the children will narrate the commentary that you read previously. Serving merely as a background for their thoughts. Sort of setting up the stage or the background setting. The narration is usually exceedingly interesting and then before the close of the lesson the teacher brings out such new thoughts of God. Here is your discussion time or new points of behavior as a reading has afforded. Emphasizing the moral or religious lesson to be learned rather by a reverent and sympathetic matter than by any attempt at personal application. This is I think one of the keystone characteristics of a Charlotte Mason Sunday school that differs from a lot of the Sunday school box curriculum that we see. There's always some sort of a moral that is the driving force in the in a particular lesson, but for us we're allowing the the word of God to bring that personal application to the child and stepping out of the way.

In terms of the New Testament we are reading through the synoptic gospels. And so here she just talks about how we want this poetic presentation of the life and teaching of Our Lord (see Vol 6. p.165-66). The danger is boring our young listeners. And that danger is something that we need to keep on the forefront of our minds. So again, not too much talk. She emphasizes this, we allow the Holy Spirit to do the work through the word of God itself. And we allow the child direct interaction and contact with the Living Word of God.

"On the whole we shall perhaps do well to allow the scripture reading itself to point to the moral."
~ Vol 6, p.165-6

What about the method? So you know we talked about how the Bible Lesson progresses from perhaps a commentary, a little bit of narration about it. Then the reading of the scripture passage itself from your Bible not from a paraphrase or watered down children's Bible. And then we talked about the narration and we and the discussion where we don't point anything out. We allow the Holy Spirit to do that work and it's really a discussion where you know, we're not giving the moral we're allowing the children to discover that on their own. But how we read the Bible is so important, she brings us up time and time again, that we have to read reverently carefully and with just expression.

The children hear the stories and we allow this hour to be one of sweet leisure and sober gladness. And you know, even though your Bible Lesson is such a small portion in the beginning everything that you're doing there after with the child with the picture studies and the maps and even the handicrafts are all sort of building up on and letting the word of God simmer in their heart during this time. And we need to trust that God's word is living and active and able to do this that one story whatever passage it was read that whatever episode was read that it's going to be a constantly growing front to find moral idea in the child (See Vol 1, p.336-7).

Ultimately, this is this is my goal. And I've I know I've shared that with you in our mission and vision, but this is my goal. That they would have a love of the word. Charlotte Mason says,

"I think we make a mistake in bearing the text under our endless comments and applications. Also, I doubt if the picking out of individual verses and grinding these into the child until they see some any meaning for him is anything but a hindrance to the spiritual life."

Does that bring back a lot of memories? At least it does for me. A lot of Bible memory verse competitions and things like that.

"The word is full of vital force, capable of applying itself a seed lightest thistle down wafted into the child's soul. Will take root downwards and bear fruit upwards. What is required of us is that we shouldn't plant a love of the word and now...and then in the reading will occur one of those convictions passing from the soul of the [teacher] to the soul of the child in which is a life of the spirit."
Vol 1, p.349

A love of the word and one that will carry through and continue to grow all the years of their life.

Considerations

So some considerations for you as you think about your Bible reading lesson plan for the year. These are just the steps that I take.

First, I Mark any special Sundays where we might not have a separate Bible lesson for the children. For us, it's like our Christmas service or our Resurrection Sunday service where they remain with their family.

Another consideration is whether or not you're going to alternate Old Testament New Testament reading. In the beginning, I tried that because it was only once a week that I would see my children my church's children and because you know, they're completely new to narration in our church. Until recently, we were the only homeschooling family.  So it was very new to the children. So I needed to change things again assess always, you know reassess at the end of the year. And I changed it to having Old Testament in our Bible reading in the first part of the year and then New Testament in our second part of the year.

Now when it comes to your Old Testament reading plans start at Genesis start at the beginning and you just go through and mark the different episodes, meaning a story something that will translate as beautiful images in their minds and they're able to see it with their minds eye and you don't want to stop part way, but you want to have a succinct episode that will be also very easy for them to narrate.

The New Testament: you're looking at the synoptic gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and then the first eight chapters of Acts.

If you want, you could use a Bible commentary to help you. Sometimes, looking at for example, the commentary that Charlotte Mason used the Paterson Smith commentaries, they help you in delineating the episodes and they also tell you where to make the appropriate omissions. Be sure to do that.

Another sort of source that you could look at is your pastor’s sermon plan ask him to share that with you because something that I think is a wonderful thing for our children is to also have the same Bible passage in their Bible Lesson as what their older siblings and their parents are receiving. And so you could work it out that way, especially if you're Pastor is an exegetical preacher that works out very well.

Example

Here is an example of a Bible reading plan that's marked out as a four-year plan.

So year 1 you have your Genesis for the first part of the year, let's say, if you're doing that. And then New Testament would be Matthew in the second half the year.

Year 2, Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Again, remember omitting anything inappropriate. Appropriate parts for the children's stories for the most part. New Testament, Mark and then Acts one to eight.

Year 3 Joshua, Judges, and the first Samuel, the first date chapters. New Testament will be Luke.

Year 4, second Samuel, First Kings, Second Kings and then maybe for the New Testament depending on what's going on with your pastors sermon plan, you could have that for the second half of the year. So this is just an example.

Pictures and Illustrations

Regarding pictures and illustrations and Maps I get a lot of questions about this. These are sometimes hard to find because of course again, we need to find ones that are appropriate. But I would like to share with you, what is the most important thing for me in terms of picking out the right pictures or paintings. We want them to be ones where the artist had an "exceeding reverence and delight" in every detail of the Sacred story when they created that art piece because again, it's this commerce that is occurring of living ideas between the artist and the children (Vol 1, p.252-3). So we need to look into that. That's so important.

And with regards to picture study you're doing the same thing as you would do at home in your homeschool. You would be allowing the children to study the pictures allowing the pictures to tell their own tale and then for them to narrate what they see and it's incredible the kind of details they give.

Some considerations again when you're picking out and selecting pictures for this portion is the artist. Is there exceeding reverence and delight? Are they somebody that you know there they painted something as a result of their own time in the word of God because of this commerce of living ideas directly from the artist to your students.

Some resources that you might use are also in addition to pictures and artwork is Bible Atlas, maps of the Bible, and there is a really great Rose Bible Book of Bible charts and maps and timelines. I think that's the actual title for it. And for example, that is a great resource to see what the Tabernacle looked like when you reach that portion of the scriptures or what Solomon's Temple looked like. I actually even found a 3D puzzle of the Tabernacle and as the children get to create the 3D puzzle pieces for it. They were able to come to a better understanding. Of the symbolism behind it, which we all know then points to Jesus. So we're planting these ideas these living ideas. That's what they all lead to.

Recitation

Now for the recitation, I won't read this quote, but I'm putting this up here for you to be able to see why and how we are doing recitation including it.

"The learning by heart of Bible passages should begin while the children are quite young, six or seven. It is a delightful thing to have the memory stored with beautiful, comforting, and inspiring passages, and we cannot tell when and how this manner of seed may spring up, grow and bear fruit;

by the learning of the parable of the Prodigal Son, for example should not be laid on the children as a burden.

The whole parable should be read to them in a way to bring out its beauty and tenderness; and then, day by day, the teacher should recite a short passage, perhaps two or three verses, saying it over some three or four times until the children think they know it. Then, but not before, let them recite the passage.

Next day the children will recite what they have already learned, and so on, until they are able to say the whole parable."

~Charlotte Mason, Vol 1, p.254

A lot of times parents will ask, “Do you have scripture Memory?” Recitation automatically as a natural byproduct leads to memorization of scriptures, but it becomes something that really becomes a possession of the child and not just a part of a contest or a drill again because we want recitation of scripture to be leading the child to a love of God's word.

Handicrafts

Now, what about handicrafts? We love to include handicrafts and we like to include and be intentional about the kind of handicrafts that we plan for because in a Charlotte Mason education we never want to waste the child's time. We don't despise the child, right? They are born persons and just like we don't want our time wasted. We don't want their time to be wasted with what she calls pea and stick work. paper mats and the like. We choose our handicrafts that are age-appropriate for the child. She says they have to be within the compass of the child's abilities and work. We don't allow slipshod work. So here we're cultivating in mind the habits of best effort. For example. And we teach them slowly and carefully we don't just you know, throw it at them. This is how you do it. But let there be a progression so in our Sunday school, what I like to do is to designate a month or two months or sometimes the whole term of three months where we're learning a particular skill and they're working on the same project toward the end of finishing it at the end of the term or by the end of the term. 

"The points to be borne in mind in children's handicrafts are: (a) that they should not be employed in making futillties suchas pea and stick work, paper mats, and the linke; (b) that they should be taught slowly and carefully what they are to do; (c) that slipshod work should not be allowed; (d) and that, therefore, the children's work should be kept well within their compass."
~ Charlotte Mason, Vol 1, p.315-6

Another idea for you, and I know this is not necessarily something that every children's ministry can have but one of the things I dreamed about is I talked about early on is a Children's Garden and I just mentioned it to our parents and grandparents and to our church and they came together. We designed and built this Children's Garden on a small piece of the church property. If you don't have church property in which to be able to build something like this, do a container garden. Like some of us, I mean, we don't really need much space for that. Right but a container garden for the children. Or one of my friends what she was able to do her churches in the city and they were able to find a community garden near their church. And so they were able to ask for a plot in the community garden, which I think is brilliant.

And again, I mean just all the ideas of how they could be reaching the community as they do this. So this is something that you could do as part of your handicraft time because here they could be nature journaling and really one of the ideas that I have in my mind doing this time is also for the children not to see that there is a segregation between sacred and secular. Everything is the Lord's there is not a piece of the world where our Lord God Almighty says mine. Everything is God's and I want them to see God add his hand in all of creation. So we add that into our handicraft time.

Some DIY supplies because again, I know the budget can often be an issue as as it is also with myself. And so I actually just look up and see how are some of the things that I want to do able to be done within our budget and that often means I need to look up how to create different things like the loom that's what this became on YouTube. So I used a canvas and I just took off, you know, the canvas paper, used the frame of the canvas for our Loom and just some nails and was able to make a loom for 60 children.

Handicraft Considerations

So what are the considerations when you're developing your plan your handicraft plan for your children throughout the year. First again, mark those special handicraft seasons or days such as Advent or Mother’s Day or Father's Day I like to have something special that they could create and finish in that one hour together that one Sunday school day together. A gift for mother or a gift for father for those days.

And then I look at the seasons, you know, I live in a place where there's four seasons. So maybe I'll choose something like clay modeling for the fall something with the Fiber Arts.  love Fiber Arts for winter whether it be finger knitting for the smallest ones to crochet or knitting for the older ones or weaving. And then brush drying or nature journaling out in the Children's Garden for spring and summer.

Resources, again, DIY look it up and YouTube use skillshare what you need to see because you can most definitely find how to make that particular resource on your own. And get the parents involved, you know have a fun, you know parent interaction event where you're making these supplies together.

And lastly I think it's great if you could ask the congregation to be involved as well and they would they usually would love to be to be part of the children of what they're doing by asking for donations. For example, if you're doing any type of Fiber Arts ask for donations of yarn from your congregation instead of trying to you know, find a budget for it.

About Teachers

A word about the teachers, and we talk about and we focus a lot on the Bible Lesson and the narration, the recitation, but I think the most important resource are the teachers and I know for myself it's sometimes very tempting to just say I'll just take in anybody who is willing to give of their time, but we need to be very careful with our teachers. Because it really is from the heart of the teacher their convictions and what they know of God, which is carried out to the spiritual life of the child.

"One or more, these are the truths we must teach the children, because these will come straight out of our hearts with the enthusiasm of conviction which rarely fails to carry its own idea into the spiritual life of another."
~ Charlotte Mason Vol 1, p.346-7

So one of the things that I do with our teachers is I do sit down if there's somebody that I don't know they have an application and I do sit down with them and hear their testimony and have sort of like an interview with them. And of course we continue to train them and I'll talk a little bit about that in a bit but you know making sure that they do have this living and active discipled life of God, right? Because that is what the children are going to interact with. 

"The [teacher] must not make blundering, witless efforts:as this is the highest duty imposed upon him, it is also the most delicate; and he will have infinite need of faith and prayer, tact and discretion, humility, gentleness, love, and sound judgement, if he would present [the] child to God, and the thought of God to the soul of [the] child."
~ Charlotte Mason, Vol 1 p.345

Do the teachers have the thoughts of God in mind? Will they be people who have faith and will pray for the children? Do they have tact and discretion humility gentleness, love and sound judgment. Because these are the thoughts of God that are going to be presented to the soul of the children in their class. When I talk about thoughts of God, I mean the thoughts of God that Charlotte May actually lays out which I love at the end of volume one.

This is a quote from Eleanor Frost from the Parents Review (1913). She says

“It cannot be urged too strongly that under every Bible Lesson, there must be the thought of the knowledge of God whether it is actually face to face with Christ as in the gospel story or whether it is Christ is revealed by the prophets. In either case, you must come before the pupils as a real presence the actual and living God.”

There are four main thoughts of God, we want our children to have and that is (1) Father and Giver. Creator, the one who provides for all their needs whose faithful to them. (2) Loyalty to Christ Our King. Children have this natural sense of loyalty and for them to be able to recognize that Christ is their King and their loyalty is due to him. (3) Jesus as our savior, of course, and then that (4) Jesus the King himself inhabits and is able to inhabit their heart.

So I hope some of those ideas of resources will be applicable to your situation and you could adjust and tweak it to your particular children.

What Now?

Now for some troubleshooting and frequently asked questions, I've had many emails and Instagram Direct messages from many of you throughout the years. And so I'm going to try to go through some of the main ones the common ones.

How Do I Propose This? 

The first one is our church doesn't know Charlotte Mason our church is using a curriculum and they've been using the same one for many years that they're used to how do I propose something like this? Because this is a big change and how do I even introduce Charlotte Mason?

I want to start off by giving you some encouragement because I have witnessed, with some of the sisters who've reached out to me, and as we pray together and as we've helped them, you know with questions and planned together that they have seen and they have actually been invited to be able to bring about a Charlotte Mason Sunday School by the leadership. So it's amazing. God will answer but some you know, sometimes it took just a matter of a few months. Sometimes it took over a year, but we need to simply wait and pray because it's God who is going to move hearts, but as we wait and pray it's an active waiting. We are allowing the Lord to use our own life and you know the life of our family, our children to show and to demonstrate what this could look like. So we don't necessarily have to go and do a lot of talking but it will show. It will be evident through your family's interaction and life in the church and your words will therefore then gain impact.

If you are a Sunday school teacher and I hope you are volunteering already as a Sunday school teacher in the current curriculum. Then do what you're able there was recently a really great podcast episode and article on Charlotte Mason Poetry by a wonderful sister of ours Dawn where she is a Sunday school teacher and she was able to share what kinds of things you could adjust or tweak a bit so that they use the Charlotte Mason method with her students and she was very faithful. We just keep being faithful, do what we can within the class and with the students that we’re given for this time. 

Prepare a proposal or a plan. So again go back and you could use my slides you can use information. I give you and prepare a proposal for your leadership and just have it ready for that day when they do ask you for one and then they can see that you know, this is very serious. You've taken a lot of time in prayer and thought and preparation for something like this and that it's doable. I will also add that a Charlotte Mason Sunday school tends to be very much budget-friendly more so than all those big box curriculums out there and don't be afraid to mention that as well.

Offer the idea of a trial or with just one of the classes such as perhaps your class if you're currently teaching as a Sunday school teacher. And document it and also invite your leadership to come, you know one at a time to observe your class. Or even parents to come and observe your class.

And then if you're approved by the leadership one thing I highly recommend is ask for an opportunity to present your children's ministry plan to the rest of the congregation because this is a way again for the whole church to get involved to pray and to help you. For the parents to understand what you are doing and what you're about and to see your heart for their children.

What if there's no outward show? 

Now another question I get is what if there's no outward show in the children like you're not seeing any fruit from the changes and you're afraid that the the leadership might also see that too. There's no change in the children.

First of all, I want to say it takes time, especially if the children are not they've never narrated. They're not homeschooled children. They're not homeschooled the Charlotte Mason method and this is all new to them. It's going to take time their habits of attention some of the children come to you with no habit of attention. So it's going to take time. So, I want to encourage you that even if you're not seeing anything right now God will bring about the fruit. For us, what can we do? "An earnest purpose of heart" and sticking to that "definite scheme" that definite plan that we have that we made prayerfully with the Lord and by the leading of the Holy Spirit to build up these children in the faith. And I love that she brings up again "this kind cometh for only by prayer and it is as the teacher gets wisdom liberally from above that you will be enabled for this Divine task" (Vol 1, p.348). You will be enabled.

How Do I Train Teachers?

The third very common question I receive is how do I train the teachers?

For many of us, myself included. Our teachers have never heard of Charlotte Mason and all of this is completely new to them. They've never heard of narration in this form for children. So how do I present this especially for teachers are very much used to and comfortable with just the old way of doing things how they've always taught for sometimes decades. How do we introduce something like this in a way that is respectful and honorable and gentle and that will inspire?

One of the things that I did was to create just a very gentle spreadsheet linked with hyperlinks to articles and you know episodes of podcasts and so that they could on their own time as they feel ready, be able to go through and read or listen to these.

Another thing that you could do is and this is something that I'm working on is to create a six to eight week course. And this is not heavy duty. This is basically a book club. But you choose a book something like For the Children’s Sake or When Children Love to Learn something that is maybe a little bit lighter and also, you know, it it you're not gonna probably read every single aspect. You're not gonna be reading the parts about reading lesson in there. So you're being very purposeful about the segments that you're going to be reading or the chapters in the book. But you're having to read those together maybe a chapter at a time and and meeting together to discuss perhaps once a week and you're doing this as a course. You could do it over the summer, for example.

If any of them are interested you could offer them intensive training and then of course having them come and observe. I always have my teachers in the beginning they always start up as helpers and they come and they just help and they're with me and they watch or with the other Charlotte Mason trained teacher and they watch and then they can eventually, if they want, become a teacher in the future.

One of the things I also started was a conference called The Gospel Vision for Children conference and it really began as a way to train my teachers in one weekend. And this was because we don't have the budget for me to take all our at the time I had 40 teachers. I couldn't take them all to a conference elsewhere. So what I did was invite speakers to come and train our teachers and it was open to all the families as well. All the parents all the grandparents anybody who has anything to do with children to come and learn and listen because it's a whole new paradigm of looking at a child and the spiritual life of a child. So perhaps something like this could be one that you could propose not right away. I don't know if the leadership will be up for right away, but it's something to keep in mind which will be an excellent way to sort of jump start training for your teachers.

What about the parents?

Now all the opportunities that I've just mentioned you could open it up to the parents. So you begin with that Congressional meeting to give them a taste of it. In your weekly newsletters. I always try to include maybe a quote or just something that aligns well with what I'm doing in the children's Sunday school and it just kind of keeps them, you know aware and and on your side and growing in thinking about these things and growing a thinking love. 

Tools and resources for a family devotions is something that I love to try to do for them. And one of them is I don't know if you've thought of a menu. I like to use a menu in our homeschool. So I've also brought it into our Sunday school and it's something that I working on to create enough for our parents to take home and using their family devotions, and I would fill it with our current recitation scripture passage. Our current hymn and so on and so forth. So this is something that I hope will be useful for the family and they'll be able to use throughout the week so the children are getting this not just on Sundays but throughout the weekday as well.

Providing continuous self-education. Again, that same spreadsheet you could share with the parents invite them to the six to eight week course. Definitely invite them to the training conference, if you plan to do something like that. Offer yourself as a one-on-one Mentor if you have the time for it because some parents, some mothers something just got awakened in them and they want to know more they want to know more about this thinking love.

The Child is a Born Person

I want to end with these words of  Eleanor Frost from the parents review because to me this is the this is the key to remember that the child before us in our Sunday school. They are born persons they are born with a not a fragmented soul, but a whole soul that longs after God. They need Jesus and there's something in them that they know they know this from the beginning. They have this they're born with this. So Eleanor says,

“Finally, let us remember that it is a step-by-step progress without haste, yet without rest, in much Bible study, in wide reading and above all in quiet time for meditation. Thus the children, fitted as we have seen, may not so much be brought back as allowed to stay and grow in that Kingdom where there is grace and life abounding and where looking into the king they may cry with the psalmist of old that God is there exceeding joy.”
~Eleanor M. Frost; Parent’s Review 1913

We're doing and we are invited into with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit an eternal work and it is such a privilege and honor it is such a blessing for us. I pray that we will remember that these children are born persons with such a capacity and longing and hunger for God just as we are. And we pray that God would become their exceeding joy, that is our vision.

I want to end with just ways that you could stay in touch with me reach out via MinJungHwang.com, LifeGivingMotherhood.org, or instagram @min.j.hwang. I would love to hear from you, hear how it's going, hear your prayer requests. I would love to pray with you as you're about to propose to your leadership. If you want me to look over your proposal. I want to help you because we are in this together. Thank you for joining me.