Teach like Charlotte Mason: Everything You Need to Get Started

When I first heard about Charlotte Mason in homeschooling circles, I totally misjudge it. First I thought is was akin to unschooling, then I thought it was impossibly rigorous and unobtainable. But thankfully I kept digging into her ideas and found them to be the PERFECT fit for our family!

Mason described education as partaking of a feast. As teachers, we are to expose kids to a “feast” of living ideas through literature. Kids get first hand knowledge of subjects from people that are passionate about the topic. They hear information via stories and plot and passion. They internalize it. It becomes theirs.

Contrast this to dry textbooks. Information is delivered second hand and leaves the child feeling like they have to like or remember the exact same things that the textbook writers want them to. Mason kept up the analogy and described textbooks like a chef insisting on chewing a child’s food for them and spitting it back out, before they would then eat it themselves.

Gross, but you get the point!

Because of Charlotte Mason, my boys have been exposed to things I thought they’d get NOTHING out of or would be way over their heads. Example, I read poetry and Shakespeare to my 6, 4, and 2 year old BOYS.

Do they get it all? Of course not, no one does. But do they get something of value? Oh yes, even if it’s just getting used to hearing beautiful language or finding themselves comfortable with challenging works of art.

As teachers, we are to spread the “feast” mostly through GOOD books. Mason used the term “living books”. Not every book qualifies. You are looking for a passionate author who uses beautiful language. Ideally the facts are learn amidst a story or plot.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children is a great example. In it, Peter Rabbit interacts with a new bird or two in each chapter while frolicking about the garden and meadows. There’s a bit of a plot in each chapter and the kids learn SO much without even knowing it. Another classic living book author is Holling C. Hollings (we adored Paddle-to-the-Sea ). We use him for geography and nature science.

I get most of my book suggestions from Ambleside online. They recommend living books for every subject for every grade, K-12. They break it up by what to read each week so you will cover a shockingly vast amount of material in very little time (CM advocates keeping formal schooling to a half day!). Oh and it’s all FREE!

Now, I don’t follow everything Ambleside suggests.  I didn’t want to start with British history, so we’re doing American history with Beautiful Feet Books. They’re Charlotte Mason inspired and FABULOUS! No textbooks, just fabulous books that stir the heart and ignite the imagination.

Math and Language Arts are skill-based subjects and teachers are encouraged to choose whatever curriculum best fits their child’s needs. For us that means sensory and dyslexic friendly!

Another huge staple of the Charlotte Mason method is narration. Basically after you read something to your kids, you ask them to tell you everything they remember (or ask them to explain what happened to their younger siblings!) It takes away the stress of worksheets and tests.

Kids aren’t searching for a right answer, but instead, interacting with the passage and letting you know what stuck out to them. It also helps them learn how to think on their feet, form sentences and “write” in a logical order and, of course, speech development. My oldest has gone from saying one or two random facts, to presenting the basic plot along with some deeper insight.

It seems so simple, and it is, but the results have been profound.

Another regular habit that most CM folks do is “tea time” or “morning time”.  It’s the time when you take a break from the more rigorous stuff and do the beautiful things!  We light candles, sing hymns and folk songs, study artists  and composers, read poetry and Shakespeare, read picture books because we can, and EAT!

Oh and before you get freaked out by all the subjects that Charlotte Mason covers, remember that lessons are supposed to be super short, like 10-15 minutes. And some things like poetry or art study only take 5 minutes!

You’ve gotta be strict with yourself to stick to the short time limits. Even if nothing gets done sometimes.

Kids will be much more willing to tackle their less favorite subjects if you show them you’ll stick to the 10 minute limit.

Will they waste time sometimes? Sure.

But since I started using short lessons, my son has been so much more willing to work on the hard subjects! Give them some grace, and they’ll respond!

One blog post could never cover everything there is to know about Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education. She wrote six large books on the subject!

If you’re trying to get a quick feel for what a Charlotte Mason education would look like from day to day, read Sarah Mackenzie’s Teaching from Rest. It’s not exclusively CM, but it’s a great start and only takes a day or two to read. And I just love Sarah (listen to her Read Aloud Revival podcast or at the very least, go to her site and get her book list!)

If you’re looking for uber practical, try A Charlotte Mason Education: A Home Schooling How-To Manual. It covers how CM handles each subject in great detail. It only takes a couple hours to read.

My favorite CM book, which I plan to reread every year, is Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition. It compares CM to classical education and will get you all fired up about teaching the next generation. Hint: CM is classical, but more true to the ancient classical methods.

The Mason Jar These were so helpful to me! I finally understood the why behind what CM is all about. Plus Cindy Rollins is so down to earth about everything. Makes CM approachable. Really anything on the Circe Institute is fabulous!

A Delectable Education  This is a neat one with four experienced homeschoolers discussing Charlotte Mason topics among themselves.

Your Morning Basket Morning time is so key to having an enjoyable Charlotte Mason or classical homeschool. I’ve really enjoyed the episodes I’ve listened to.

If you’re looking for like minded women that want to keep their own brains sharp and refreshed, this podcast is for you! Love love love!

This is my favorite CM Facebook group. It’s run by the folks that put on “The Mason Jar” and you can glean all sorts of great things. People are very supportive and non-judgey.