What Is Charlotte Mason Homeschool And Is It Right For Your Child?

Parent Charlotte Mason homeschooling her child

The Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling is a Christian-based education model that aims to educate the whole child, not just their mind. It has grown to become one of the most popular methods of homeschooling in North America with millions of homeschool educators using Charlotte Mason methods. As a result, there are copious amounts of learning tools available for anyone who decides that this method is right for their family. 

"The souls of all children are waiting for the call of knowledge to awaken them to delightful living."

Charlotte Mason Tweet

Three-Pronged Approach to Charlotte Mason Education

Charlotte Mason asserted that “education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.” She referred to this philosophy as an interdependence between the three- one supplements and is supplemented by the other two. 

Discipline

When Charlotte Mason referred to discipline, she was referring to strong habits. She said that creating good habits in children is analogous to constructing railroad tracks upon which our child’s life will travel smoothly. Once the tracks are there, repetition and motivation are the other important keys for developing strong habits. Charlotte Mason was not only referring to physical habits, but more importantly, habits of character. Discipline makes up one third of education.

Life

Charlotte Mason expressed the importance of encouraging children to have living thoughts and ideas. Books used in this education method are referred to as “living books” which are written in a narrative form and are not simply textbooks filled with dry facts. The ideology of parents also contributes to this concept of life as one third of education.

Atmosphere

Equally as important as the other two prongs is the environment in which you child lives and learns. Time outdoors interacting with God’s natural creations and pleasant, calming workspaces are needed to develop as a whole person. Spaces to relax and absorb the concepts that were learned is part of this concept of atmosphere.

The balance between these three elements is imperative, as focusing on atmosphere can lead to a child feeling that no work is needed and focusing solely on discipline can hamper a child’s curiosities and imagination. Introducing too many living ideas as part of the life prong can become intellectually draining and inhibit the growth of the whole person. So, the magic, according to Charlotte Mason, is in the balance of the three in perfect harmony.

"The function of a teacher is to design learning experiences, not principally to convey information."

Charlotte Mason Tweet

The Role of the Charlotte Mason Homeschool Teacher

Charlotte Mason is clear that the role of a teacher is “masterly inactivity.” Sometimes, this is confused with unschooling, but it is, in fact, very different. “Masterly inactivity” means that instructors of the Charlotte Mason method should be readily available to guide or motivate the student when necessary and lecture very little. A teacher should introduce the curriculum, and then assist students in developing an engaged relationship with the subject matter. An example of this is where a parent teaches a Bible lesson, but first, provides context for the lesson. Using maps, pictures, or a brief lesson about the region, the student receives some background education to help them better understand and engage with the lesson. When teachers encourage children to become active learners, their focus and retention improves and they continue to be excited about their learning environment. 

Are You Qualified To Teach Charlotte Mason?

If you wish to homeschool your child using the Charlotte Mason method, it is advised that you first pursue a “great books” education. This will include studying certain classics of literature, history, philosophy, and science that are recognized as representing the basic ideas of Western culture. Great books authors include:

  • Aristotle
  • Homer
  • Plato
  • Shakespeare
  • Pascal

An exhaustive list of great books authors can be found here.

There are a few different ways to gain this type of education in preparation of teaching the Charlotte Mason method. The Ambleside Schools International provides a three-day training on the philosophy and practice of Charlotte Mason methods. They are a training center for teachers, parents, and educational leaders who wish to embrace and teach the Charlotte Mason method. 

Another option is the Charlotte Mason Made Easy program, which is a thirteen-week online course designed to prepare parents for Charlotte Mason homeschooling. 

A third option is to use a pre-packaged Charlotte Mason curriculum, like the one provided by Simply Charlotte Mason and learn alongside your child. This works well when homeschooling older children.

Although there is no requirement to become a certified Charlotte Mason teacher, the more you understand about her method and curriculum, the richer the experience you and your child will have. 

"The individuality of the parents is a great possession for their children..."

Charlotte Mason Tweet

What Do Charlotte Mason Learning Spaces Look Like?

Whether you have a large, dedicated learning space or you are limited to a small area in an RV or tiny home, it is entirely possible to create a Charlotte Mason learning space that is conducive to the “atmosphere” criteria of her method. 

Your personal Charlotte Mason learning space will reflect your personality and your relationship with your child. The space will have to function for you and your individual needs. Although the look and feel of a Charlotte Mason learning space will differ, there are a few universal elements that they should have.

Order

Your learning atmosphere can help your child develop a habit of orderliness and will run more efficiently if everything has a specific place. When we are searching all over for homeschool supplies and learning tools, our child loses their focus and their learning minds are disrupted. Whether you are using a few cabinets or an entire room, creating an organized library of books and specific bins or shelves for learning materials is important. 

Aesthetics

When a learning space is welcoming, beautiful, and comfortable, children want to be there and stay there. Work within your budget to create spaces where your child can do written work, another where they can read, and additional spaces to connect with nature and natural objects. Don’t be afraid to use different spaces, but make each space beautiful and comfortable. If your climate permits, include an outdoor space. Some Charlotte Mason homeschoolers light candles, display a vase of fresh flowers, or play soft music during certain lessons. Changing the spaces to reflect changing seasons or holidays is fun. Creating an atmosphere includes paying attention to aesthetics. 

Function

As your child grows and requires different types of lessons and learning materials, don’t be afraid to change learning spaces and the way you store materials. The atmosphere must be functional. If your storage spaces look orderly, but you and your child struggle to retrieve the supplies you need on a daily basis, it is not functional. Continuously ask the question, “What about this space will help my child to function better?” 

The Use of Living Methods

When Charlotte Mason refers to living methods, she is talking about active learning versus passive learning. She talks about learning for the sake of learning using a wide variety of sources from the Bible to pottery to Homer to sewing. This is accomplished in several ways. 

Living Books

Charlotte Mason students use “living books” rather than textbooks. Books in a Charlotte Mason curriculum are written as a narrative that tells a story. The storytelling makes the book “come alive” rather than simply disseminating information to be retained. 

Narration

Students taught with the Charlotte Mason method are encouraged to read a portion of the living book and then tell it back in their own words. The narration of the story solidifies a mental connection that allows their mind to grow. Worksheets or standardized tests are never used. 

Nature

The Charlotte Mason method includes spending time outdoors in observation or interaction as a way of learning about God’s creation and the living ways of nature. Outdoor learning spaces, times of reflection in nature, and outdoor play are a few ways to implement this. 

Great Books and Artists

Handwriting and spelling are taught using the great books, which include rich ideas rather than simply lists of words devoid of contextual meaning. Lessons are centered around classic artists and music from great composers plays in the background. Charlotte Mason students gain an in-depth knowledge of each author, artist, and composer, rounding out a complete education.
 
Through the use of these living methods, Charlotte Mason homeschoolers are regarded as whole humans and gain a comprehensive and engaging education.

Charlotte Mason’s 20 Principles

Charlotte Mason authored six volumes and a supplemental volume detailing her philosophies and methods of education. They are as follows:

  • Volume 1- Home Education
  • Volume 2- Parents and Children
  • Volume 3- School Education
  • Volume 4- Ourselves
  • Volume 5- Formation of Character
  • Volume 6- A Philosophy of Education
The supplemental volume is titled, “Explanation of Charlotte Mason’s 20 Principles.” An understanding of the 20 Principles is paramount to developing and implementing a true Charlotte Mason curriculum. 

1. Children Are Born Persons

Charlotte Mason believed that children are born as whole people capable of understanding complex ideas and forming ideas. They are not empty sacks ready to be filled with information, but rather they are capable of engaging with knowledge.

2. Children Are Not Born Good or Bad

Charlotte Mason believed that although children are born with a sin nature, in accordance with Christian beliefs, they are not born inherently good or bad. Each child has the possibility of being good or bad and will make choices.

3. Importance of Authority

Authority and obedience are part of human nature and for families, communities, or the society as a whole to run smoothly, submission to authority is necessary.

4. Respect of Child Comes First

The authority of a parent or teacher is not license to abuse a child or use fear based tactics. Parents and teacher ought not limit or influence a child’s education with power tactics.

5. Educational Instruments

Parents and teachers are limited to three educational instruments: atmosphere of environment, discipline of habit, and presentation of living ideas. This is the Charlotte Mason method motto.

6. Education Is An Atmosphere

There is no need to create artificial, prepared environments for a child to learn, but rather, use opportunities in the child’s current environment. Children learn best from the real world.

7. Education Is A Discipline

Physiologists inform us that brain structures adapt to habitual lines of thought and therefore, training a child to practice good habits and self-regulation is part of a comprehensive education.

8. Education Is A Life

Intellectual, physical, and moral education is necessary and is best learned from a varied curriculum including many subjects of interest, including the great books and artists.

9. A Child’s Mind As A Spiritual Organism

A child’s mind is not a bucket that needs to be filled with information, but rather it is a living thing that requires knowledge to flourish. A child’s mind is designed to absorb knowledge and children do not require training to be ready to learn.

10. Less Instruction

Children who receive too much instruction are limited in how much knowledge they gain. “What a child learns matters less than how he learns it.” Detailed lesson plans inhibit learning.

11. A Child’s Mind Is Designed To Receive Knowledge

Presenting a full and generous curriculum where the child is exposed to interesting living ideas and concepts is the true and most effective way to educate. Memorizing facts without context is counterintuitive. 

12. Education Is The Science Of Relations

A child is naturally related to their environment so our job as parents and teachers is not to teach them, but rather to help them make valid connections in meaningful ways. Exposing a child to knowledge and experiences is the way to foster these connections.

13. Three Components of a Curriculum

To present a curriculum according to the Charlotte Mason method, you must present opportunity for knowledge, the experiences and material should be varied to prevent boredom, and taught in literary form.

14. Narration

Knowledge is not assimilated until it is explained back, making narration an important part of the method. Once a child can express the knowledge in their own words, they are said to truly understand.

15. The Importance of A Single Reading

Children are capable of holding great attention, but when they are required to re-read, the attention wanes. Narration should occur after a single reading.

16. Two Guides

A child’s moral and intellectual self-regulation have two guides referred to as “the way of the will” and “the way of reason.” A parent’s and teacher’s role is to encourage balance between the two.

17. The Way Of The Will

Children must learn to temper what they want if they know it is not morally right. Using diversions, they can practice this skill.

18. The Way Of Reason

Children must learn not to rely too heavily on their own reasoning, as it can be unreliable when used to justify erroneous ideas.

19. Acceptance And Rejection Of Ideas

When children understand that they must temper their wants and not trust their own reasoning, they will be saved from “loose thinking.” The use of good habits and copious amounts of knowledge will help them to learn which ideas to accept or reject.

20. All Truths Are God’s Truths

There is no distinction between an intellectual and spiritual education. Children must not go back and forth between focus on God and their school subjects, because the two must be learned as one.

Summary of A Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum

What does a Charlotte Mason homeschool curriculum actually look like? Based on the methods outlined in her volumes, a Charlotte Mason curriculum includes the following:
  • Narration. Children are required to tell back the learning materials in their own words and according to their own understanding.
  • Copywork. Handwriting and spelling practice include transcribing works of literature.
  • Outdoors. Time spent in nature includes observation and a connection to and appreciation of God.
  • Habit Training. Developing strong habits leads to discipline and the inclination to act in a moral manner.
  • Living materials. Great books and other works from the best minds are preferred to dry textbooks.
  • Limited memorization. Memorization is not used to gain knowledge, but rather to meditate. Scripture is memorized as a form of meditation.
  • History. Well-written history books and other primary sources are used to teach history.
  • Literature. Using high-quality books, literature is taught alongside history to provide a complete understanding of the time period. 
  • Reading. A combination of sight words and phonics, the basics of reading is taught while high quality children’s stories are introduced. 
  • Child-led direction. A child is enabled to pursue personal interests and education is self-paced.
  • Short, focused lessons. Teachers present with excellent execution and focus for short periods of time to avoid over-stressing a child’s brain.
  • Mathematics. Emphasis is placed on word problems and working with numbers as a means to understand real life situations.
  • Foreign language proficiency. An emphasis is placed on learning French and Latin, considered to be classical languages.
  • Physical fitness. Moving one’s body each day in some form of physical fitness is part of the curriculum.
  • Bible study. The knowledge of God is regarded as the primary knowledge.

The Advantages of the Charlotte Mason Homeschool Method

Families who decide to use the Charlotte Mason homeschooling education model are typically seeking a holistic approach to education. Some key advantages to this type of education include:
  • Students are engaged by short lessons and child-led learning.
  • Children develop an appreciation of literature and classical works.
  • Children learn to articulate themselves through practice of narration as a learning technique.
  • Children develop an appreciation for nature and the outdoors.
  • Spiritual and intellectual education are not separate, but infused with each other. 
  • Students are encouraged to gain actual knowledge, not simply memorize facts.

Is Charlotte Mason Homeschool Right For Your Child?

If you have grown disillusioned by traditional classroom education and are considering Charlotte Mason homeschool as your family’s education model, here are a few things to consider. 

Learn Together

Families who use the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling explain that their family is learning together about most subject matter. Many parents have gaps in their education when it comes to great books, artists, and composers. Engaging with the subject matter as a family and learning together is a key component of this method.

Type of Learning Style

If your child is a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner, Charlotte Mason may be a great choice for you. Children are encouraged to engage with learning materials, rather than strictly memorize. 

Rigorous Education

Charlotte Mason is a rigorous academic method that teaches discipline and critical thinking. When implemented properly, the education model will exceed the rigor of most traditional schooling.

Well-Rounded Education

Unlike technical or STEM/STEAM education models, Charlotte Mason homeschool provides a comprehensive and well-rounded education that is broad and varied and keeps students engaged.
 
The Charlotte Mason education model isn’t right for everyone, but is a great fit for many Christian families looking to homeschool. 

 

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