A little Bit of Charlotte Mason

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

26 Jan 2007 02:19 PM

As a relaxed homeschooler with an eclectic philosophy, I have found that I subscribe to the theories of the Charlotte Mason Curriculum.

Charlotte Mason emphasizes gentle learning through reading. I myself am a testament that learning through reading works. I began reading for pleasure in the fourth grade. My teacher, sensing that I was bored with the (everybody at the same pace, private school) curriculum, and stressed from the bullying for being too smart, loaned me The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I read that book, the rest of the series, and everything from classic to best sellers for the next 8 years. (Once I started college, recreational reading became a thing of the past.) In those eight years, my knowledge of history was widened to new dimensions, my curiosity became boundless, and my vocabulary soared to new heights.

While the Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling does not subscribe to reading anything and everything like I did, I try not to limit my children's reading choices. Meanwhile, however, I do strongly suggest specific books that will round out their history and science lessons.

This year while studying the modern time period, I have had my children read many time appropriate books. For example, When my children were studying 1910-1920, I had them read Voyage on the Great Titanic and A Time for Courage,The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen. Last year when my kids were studying the Victorian Time Period, my daughter read the Little House series, and both kids read The Heading West Collection of the Dear America Series. In fact, I find the Dear America Series to be an excellent way to get my kids to talk about American History.

Learn more about the Charlotte Mason Method of homeschooling. You might like it.

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Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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Nola Redd (7081) 26 Jan 2007 04:07 PM

Hmm, I didn't realize the Charlotte Mason method focused so much on reading. With my bookworm daughter, I may have to take a good long look at that! We're still really relaxed, and I'm trying to figure out what works for my kids. Apparently I need to do some more research!

Valorie Delp (49340) 26 Jan 2007 04:30 PM

Another place to look is Ambleside Online. It is a free online curriculum for those who want to follow a Charlotte Mason approach. We too find a lot of our roots in the Charlotte Mason approach.

Karen Edmisten (310) 27 Jan 2007 02:00 PM

We do a lot of CM type stuff here. Another wonderful forum (I help moderate a couple of boards there) is the 4 Real Learning forum. It's full of wonderful ideas and support. And yet another good one is Mater Amabilis.

Julie Gentry (5915) 27 Jan 2007 06:00 PM

I love Ambleside! We also use the AO Copywork loop. It's too much, though, so we modify it to fit our family.