A ‘Charlotte Mason’ Education for Homeschoolers

A Philosophy of Education

“Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.” This motto can be said to be the basis for the entire philosophy of Charlotte Mason's method of education. Each of these points – Atmosphere, Discipline and Life – are important on their own yet only in unity do they work to form the whole of Miss Mason’s method.

Atmosphere is many faceted, from the actual physical aspects of the home to the tone and spirit of family life. In creating an atmosphere of learning, the child has easy access to the materials needed. Books are put where the child can get at them, art supplies are easily reached and musical instruments placed in a special but accessible area. There are beautiful art prints to look at and beautiful music with which to inspire the mind and soul.

Discipline is the discipline of habit. Habits of mind and body- of doing and thinking. It is the forming and training in good habits that lay the pathway for virtuous living. Habits such as prompt obedience, orderliness – taking care of one's things in a proper manner, truthfulness, kindness and even the habit of attention. All these habits and many more, Miss Mason writes, are “inspired by the child as the very atmosphere of his home, the air he lives in and must grow by.”

Life is the “living ideas” that the child is nurtured with – ideas that are the sustenance of the intellectual and moral life. A child's mind, Miss Mason taught, is not an empty vessel to be filled with facts and information but rather a “spiritual organism with an appetite for all knowledge.” She believed that the child has an amazing ability to absorb knowledge, thus making it very important to provide him with a wide and generous curriculum, taking care that “all knowledge presented to him is vital, that is, that facts are not presented without their informing ideas.” Miss Mason urges parents to realize that the focus of all educational efforts should be the providing of ideas, rather than mere information and facts – for it is ideas that act upon the imagination and character and influence the soul. Boldly she proclaims that it is the duty of parents to provide the child’s mind with living ideas just as it is their duty to provide his body with actual food.

“Education is the Science of Relations,” Charlotte Mason wrote, meaning that the child gains knowledge through the many different relationships he has with “things and thoughts.” By providing a steady diet of new ideas, parents contribute to the thought and understanding of these new ideas in the child’s mind. An idea is more than an image or picture, it is a seed, small and seemingly powerless but full of possibilities. Like a seed it is the very nature of an idea to grow and when planted in the fertile soil of the child’s mind it will take root and bear fruit in the form of a succession of kindred ideas.

An idea can be recognized over mere information, by observing the child's response. The reception of an idea stirs interest – it begins to germinate, connecting with the thought processes, all the while beginning the formation of a “relationship.” How often does it occur when interest in a new topic, word or person lends itself to noticing this new subject popping up everywhere – in things read, conversations and even from the media such as television and radio? It is as if all the world were thinking about the same idea. In fact it is the new idea itself in the act of growth. It is in the process of expanding and developing, seeking nourishment and inducing the mind to reach out for more. This process is particularly keen in childhood, so much so that the growth of an idea in the child is proportionately fast and productive. “Feed the child a steady diet of living ideas,” Charlotte Mason assures us, “and his education will be secured.”

Planning a Curriculum

The purpose of a planned curriculum should be to provide a framework and guide for continuity in learning. Rather than a list of rigid content and requirements it should be a thoughtful ordering of the topics to be studied and skills to be acquired. While the goals and objectives should be clear, the actual experiences that will take place in achieving them will as yet be unknown.

Charlotte Mason wrote that a child's lessons “Should provide material for their mental growth, should exercise the several powers of their minds, should furnish them with fruitful ideas and should afford them knowledge, really valuable for its own sake, accurate and interesting, of the kind that the child may recall as a man with profit and pleasure.”

A “Charlotte Mason” curriculum is that which educates the child upon “Things and Books.” It is a curriculum that is literature based using real “living” books instead of textbooks and employing practices such as narration, dictation and copywork. A curriculum that includes nature study, science, art music, drama, physical exercises, handicrafts and real-life applications. It is in an atmosphere where there is respect and understanding; where there is the discipline of habits of mind and body; a life that includes intellectual, moral and physical sustenance; where the mind feeds on ideas; and a science of relationships where a child has a natural relations with a vast number of things and thoughts.

A Method of Educating

One of the most commonly recognized aspects of a Charlotte Mason education, is the use of living books. Whatever else they may be in a child’s education, books should be full of wonder and delight. For a book to be considered “living” it should hold the child’s interest and stir his imagination; in effect be alive. Whenever possible, living books should be used in the place of textbooks so that the child may form a relationship with the ideas of the author as opposed to simply retaining facts and figures.

Living books by their very nature lend themselves to narration. “Narrating,” Charlotte Mason wrote, “is an art, like poetry-making or painting, because it is there in every child’s mind, waiting to be discovered, and is not the result of any process of disciplinary education.” Miss Mason observed that narration wasn’t just a process for factual learning, but was a way of engaging the child’s mind and imagination. She believed that children retain more when they narrate because they become active participants as they put part of themselves into the retelling. Through narration the child gains a greater sense of the whole rather than just isolated incidents and facts.

Charlotte Mason believed that children should have an intimate relationship with creation. “Let them once get touch with Nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life.” Regular nature walks, a notebook where observations are recorded and variety of specimens and findings (leaves, flowers, insects) are kept, all serve to bring the child into close contact with nature. “We were all meant to be naturalists” Charlotte writes. “…each in his own degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things.”

The applications of Charlotte Mason’s methods are many and varied. For a thorough presentation it is suggested that parents read Miss Mason’s original writings, available in six volumes. For a shorter version, Karen Andreola's Charlotte Mason Companion is a lovely sketch of Miss Mason’s philosophy and provides a wealth of insight and practical advice in providing assistance to parents in applying these methods, as well as choosing resources that support their educational goals.

Charlotte Mason taught that education should be for living, for every part of life and for all of life. She did not claim to have perfected or even finished her philosophy and she was constantly developing, refining, and adapting as she herself was learning. Her practice was to inspire others with ideas and suggestions. She was a woman with a passion and a true pioneer of her day. Her living ideas touched the hearts and minds of those who heard her speak and read her writings and they continue to do so today.

Michele Quigley writes from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where she and her husband Tim live and learn with their eight children. She can be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].