Recently, I was asked, "What makes you love Charlotte Mason?" Well, that question I just had to answer! Where do I start? This will be my second time around with CM as I homeschooled my children for 12+ years & next month my granddaughter & I will begin her homeschool journey.
The truth is I guess I've always followed Charlotte Mason's methods even before I ever heard of them. lol!
I can still remember when Karen Andreola's book, A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on The Gentle Art of Learning, first swept the homeschooling world & how CM was all the "new" rage. So, of course I picked up a copy at the next homeschool convention.
I read it & only then did I realize that I was already incorporating many of Charlotte Mason's methods into our homeschool. Charlotte taught God first, character/habit training as essential for the young child (& adult!), short lessons, narration & copywork, nature study, use of living books rather than textbooks, so much more.
She believed that children are persons & that they should be given "something to love, something to think about & something to do" each & every day. After morning lessons, she encouraged the children to be out-of-doors every afternoon exploring God's creation & learning about the natural world.
I wish I could have known her personally! In some ways, I have had the privilege of "knowing" her better through those who have written about her. I placed a list of links below so that you too can come to know Charlotte Mason better. Many of the links on my sidebar are Charlotte Mason related as well. Happy researching!
Catherine Levison -
A Charlotte Mason Education
Ambleside Online's Annotated Charlotte Mason Series
click the link above to access Charlotte Mason's own writings on educating children (free)
click the link above to access Charlotte Mason's own writings on educating children (free)
I love the ideals of Charlotte Mason, but I still consider myself a "Charlotte Mason dropout" LOL I put too many restrictions on our learning and was much too lofty with my expectations when I was following a strict Charlotte Mason approach. We have "let loose" quite a bit now that we are following Weaver, but I do still love the concepts that Charlotte Mason proposed!
ReplyDelete"Charlotte Mason dropout" ! I love that! LOL I can see how her methods could seem "lofty" at times, we are only human & she held to such high ideals. However, I look at it as "striving" to create & MAINTAIN the atmosphere of peace, character training, love of nature & learning that is CM style. :) Weaver offers plenty of opportunity to instill that love for God & one another & the freedom to explore learning through living books of our choosing. No dry, dull textbooks! lol
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