Why Charlotte Mason?

Lately I’ve been re-visiting the reasons why I love the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling. Here are just a few of her main principles — and some of the biggest reasons I love Charlotte Mason! (The page I took this from is here; thank you to Ambleside Online for providing so much free information!):

• Children learn from real things in the real world! We use the opportunities in the environment children already live in to educate them.
• Childrens’ minds are fully capable of digesting real knowledge, so we provide a rich, generous curriculum that exposes children to many interesting, living ideas and concepts.
• Children have minds capable of making their own connections with knowledge and experiences, so we make sure children learn about nature, science and art, that they know how to make things (handicraft fun!), that they read many living books, and that they are physically fit.
• In devising a curriculum, we provide a vast amount of ideas to ensure that the mind has enough brain food, knowledge about a variety of things to prevent boredom, and subjects are taught with high-quality literary language since that is what a child’s attention responds to best.

And here is the BIGGIE…

• We allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and spiritual life of children, but teach them that the God is their Continual Helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life. There is unity among both secular and divine subjects because both are of God and, whatever children study or do, God is always with them.

If you’d like to learn more about Charlotte Mason, here are a couple of good links to explore:

~ Summaries of the CM Series
~ Who was Charlotte Mason?

There are a lot of great methods of homeschooling, but CM’s method is exactly what I was looking for, and I love it! I wish this was how I had been taught, and I have so much fun learning alongside my children. That’s one of the greatest things about homeschooling!!! Learning is fun! I pray every day to be given wisdom in teaching my kids, and for them to have a teachable spirit, but I also pray for MYSELF to have a teachable spirit and a never-ending thirst for knowledge about the One who made me and about everything in this world He made!!!

In my Handbook of Nature Study (a very CM style book!), I found this wonderful quote about having a thirst for knowledge:

“After all, what is the chief sign of growing old? Is it not the feeling that we know all there is to be known? It is not years which make people old; it is ruts, and a limitation of interests… It is rejuvenation for the teacher, thus growing old… to go out with her youngest pupil and reverently watch with him the miracle of the blossoming violet and and say: ‘Dear Nature, I know naught of the wondrous life of these, your smallest creatures. Teach me!’ and she will suddenly find herself young.”

Many articles are written to address the issue of how to stay young, and here we’ve found the answer! Homeschool mothers need only to keep our hearts teachable, and to keep learning right alongside our children.

Jamie

Wife, mom, grandma. Introvert who finds joy in good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Fitness enthusiast and personal trainer. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand.