Charlotte Mason Philosophy

OK… so I think we’re getting a clearer picture of how we want to homeschool. We may not apply everything, but reading up on Charlotte Mason has been like a breath of fresh air—funny how, I remember reading up on her philosophy many months ago and I couldn’t understand much, but now, I’m convinced! For those who are familiar with CM, as it’s fondly called, or want to get to know CM, the following are the main points:

1. Living Books – Charlotte Mason didn’t believe in using “twaddle” or dumbed down language in books for children; instead, she recommends using books with rich language and interesting ideas, written by people who are passionate about the subject, which results in books that draw you in. (I think, before I even knew the  term CM, I had a taste of this when we first read The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones, a gift from my sister-in-law.  I was personally amazed at how beautiful the story sounded when read aloud, and how pictures seemed to form in my mind with the words she used!)

2. Nature Study – Living in the city, this was something that is a bit difficult to do but I loved how she explained that children learn best by actually interacting with things, in this case, the world that God made. With my hubby and I both being nature lovers, this sat especially well with us! 😀

3. Short lessons – CM recommends 10 minutes per lesson for a child of 5 years old. Talk about common sense! You really can’t expect a child to concentrate for more than 5 minutes! Instead, CM emphasizes the habit of full attention, which makes things go much smoother. My son has yet to develop this habit, and boy, oh boy, God help me in habit training! 😉

4. Value of the Bible – While there are some who do a CM-style education without using the Bible in it, Charlotte Mason is very clear about her emphasis on the Bible being the most important book, and meditation on it as an integral part of everyday. 🙂 (Of course, my son is still just learning to read, but even now, teaching him about His heart through stories is also topmost on our hearts!)

Of course, CM isn’t a curriculum but rather an overall philosophy on education. But other than these main points that comprise the CM method, I think I was more drawn to the heart behind it all: valuing children. I came across one of Charlotte’s works which describe the things that we sometimes do (unconsciously) to children, which is not in God’s original design. One of them was despising them, or looking down on them, or not valuing them enough to give them our best. She described how Jesus would let little children go to Him, showing how much He valued them! Isn’t that amazing?

So I guess it’s not really CM that I’m advocating, but her ideas that seem in line with how the Lord views children! 🙂 The rest, like living books and stuff, seem to stem from this very core foundation, would you agree?

(Anyway, if you’re interested in learning more about CM, here are some helpful links:

1. Simply Charlotte Mason – one of my favorite sites to learn from.

2. Charlotte Mason Help – full of book suggestions

3. Ambleside Online – apparently this is one of the closest to the original CM, but personally seems too complicated for me