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Homeschool Using the Charlotte Mason Method

Homeschooling used to consist of four or five children sitting around a table scribbling away in a pile of workbooks, while a stern parent stood over them and lectured. With the help of innovative teachers like Charlotte Mason, homeschooling has come a long way. Today, there are many different methods of homeschooling. The Charlotte Mason method has become quite popular with homeschooling parents today. If you're thinking about homeschooling, you should definitely consider the different practices out there and see which will suit your children and family best. In this article, I will introduce you to Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling.

Charlotte Mason began to develop her ideas as a passionate mother dedicated to the effective education of her children. She founded the homeschooling movement in the early 1900's and invested a lifetime in improving the quality of education for children. Her vision was to create a comprehensive and adaptable educational program that focused on core subjects with an emphasis on literature, classical music and fine arts. Charlotte Mason kept her audience in mind and worked hard to keep the program interesting for children.

Mason incorporates what she called 'Living Books' into the program, in place of dry factual textbooks often found in public schools. 'Living Books' are held in high value for Mason. Living books should be written by persons with passion for a particular subject. Also, the books should be written in conversational or narrative style. Books must be 'alive' and engaging in order to inspire a similar enthusiasm in the child. Mason shuns 'twaddle,' which are books or information that are dumbed down for children, insulting their intelligence and squashing their enthusiasm.

An important part of Mason's program includes reading literature and narrating. Children must become proficient at narrating in their own words what they have read. The narration can be oral, written or even expressed in drawings. Narrating after reading helps to ensure comprehension. Younger children can narrate orally or through drawings but by ten years old, the child should be able to narrate a story by writing. Narration ensures that the child has synthesized the reading, organized the information in their mind and determined how best to communicate this information.

Another cornerstone of the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling is nature diaries. Teachers should often conduct quick and catchy lessons outdoors and then ask children to conduct their own observations of nature and draw what they see. Mason believes that the consistent study of nature paves the way for the meaningful instruction of scientific topics. Spending a significant amount of time outdoors helps children create a bond with mother nature and a sincere respect for the environment. If you would like to incorporate the Charlotte Mason method into your homeschooling program, a great first step would be to ask your children to keep a nature diary which can include prose, poetry and pictures.

Although literature, science and math are an important part of the Charlotte Mason method, the development of good character and behavior is also essential according to this philosophy. Mason strongly believed that children must learn to govern themselves and develop an internalized discipline. Parents and teachers play an important role in this matter for they must take the responsibility of instilling good habits in their children. Some of the most important habits to develop in children are punctuality, cleanliness, respect and patience. Mason believes that each of these traits requires about four to six weeks to build into a habit. Homeschooling parents who which to follow the Charlotte Mason method should incorporate as many of these practices as they can into their homeschooling programs.

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