I like to say that Charlotte Mason is the reason I began homeschooling. My oldest child was only two years old when I stumbled upon a blog in which the author was homeschooling with the Charlotte Mason method. My eyes were opened to the possibility of teaching children with living books, nature, and the fine arts and I was hooked.  With only very young children at home to teach, I scoured the internet for ideas on how to implement the Charlotte Mason method in the younger years. So my journey into the Charlotte Mason homeschooling began. I read every book I could find on the subjec ..read more

In the realm of education, one prominent figure stands out for her revolutionary ideas and holistic approach—Charlotte Mason. Her philosophy of education is centered around 20 foundational principles, each of which encompasses a unique aspect of child development. Among these principles, the first one holds significant importance: “Children are born persons.” This fundamental principle serves as a guiding light, reminding us to acknowledge the inherent dignity, worth, and individuality of every child. In this post, we delve into the profound implications of this principle and explore how emb ..read more

When I had my first child I remember trying to care for her to perfection. I began motherhood with such excitement and enthusiasm it was almost exhausting. I made her baby food, I breastfed on-demand (until she self-weaned), I taught her baby sign language. My husband and I took turns reading a book to her every night, singing a song, and saying prayers. I had to do everything just right. Not that this was necessarily bad, just ambitious, like most new mothers. Then the idea of teaching her began to creep into my mind. Looking back, if I could do it again, I would wait until she was six to s ..read more

Charlotte Mason said that we should: Never be within doors when you can rightly be without. Vol. 1 p.42 She even encouraged mothers to get outside more! She encouraged us to let children discover and collect specimens of nature. And let them see what happens with them. Nature study is an obvious reason to get our kids outdoors more. Do children keep tadpoles, and silkworms, and caterpillars in these days? Very few have given us the results of their own observations. We have many capital descriptions from books, and that is better than nothing, but the very essence of natural history is th ..read more

When I decided to homeschool, I knew that Charlotte Mason was going to be a big influence on the way we approached our learning, especially in the early years. I loved the emphasis on reading, nature, and the arts. I loved the short lessons, the variety of topics covered, and the respect given to the learner as the captain of their own education. And I loved the simplicity. As complicated as a Charlotte Mason approach can seem sometimes, while we shift through stacks of living books and organize the various courses of the “rich feast” we are trying to present, it’s really very simple when it ..read more

Are you an eclectic or structured homeschool mom?  When I first began homeschooling my kids, I was a very structured homeschooler. I had come from teaching elementary school in a small, private, Christian school that used a structured Christian-based curriculum. And, when I thought about homeschooling, I pictured doing exactly what I had been doing in my classroom at home with my own kids. Even as a classroom teacher, I had found myself constantly “adapting” the curriculum, though. I wanted more literature. I wanted more hands-on activities. I wanted to slow down when I needed to. I did ..read more

Charlotte Mason was a British educator, who believed education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. She believed children are people, with their own thoughts, and ideas, and should be treated as such. She was opposed to treating or talking to children as if they were inferior, unintelligent and ’empty canvases’ ready to be filled with ideas. Instead, she encouraged parents to raise children as independent thinkers. Parents and teachers should know how to make sensible use of a child’s circumstances (atmosphere) to forward their sound education; should train them in the disciplin ..read more

Teaching the feast of subjects in a Charlotte Mason education can seem overwhelming or daunting at first, but don’t let the number of subjects intimidate you. When I first saw the subjects taught in a Charlotte Mason education I thought um, that’s a lot of different subjects, how in the world would we ever be able to cover it all? There’s Bible, Language Arts (which includes reading instruction, copy work, recitation, oral narration and later dictation, grammar, and written narration), History, Math, Natural Philosophy (which is the natural sciences), Geography, French (or another mod ..read more

Doing all-the-things isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, but it’s something we moms try to do anyway. We try to take care of the kids, the laundry, the dishes, the bills. We want to please our families, and stay in good standing with the boss. We want to work hard for our clients, and serve well in all our ministries. And it’s no different when it comes to homeschooling. Especially if you have a type-A personality like I do. More tasks to complete, more boxes to check. Then you throw in what Charlotte Mason called the Feast of Subjects, and you’re in real trouble. Miss Mason encouraged educator ..read more