Website design By BotEap.comAfter teaching in private Christian schools for almost 20 years, I entered the world of homeschooling in 1994. From the beginning I learned about Charlotte Mason’s approach to learning. Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) was an educator in England. Many of the years that I have worked with homeschooling families, I have offered elementary classes using Charlotte Mason methods. These are the reasons why I have used this approach:
Website design By BotEap.comCharlotte Mason’s approach …
Website design By BotEap.com1 … uses
whole and alive books. Children learn a lot from complete original books. For example, a normal history textbook is a summary of what the authors think are the important points. Authors must discard a lot in order to include everything in the history book. By editing material in this way, much of the interesting narrative disappears. For many, the normal history textbook is very dry and uninteresting. Students using the Charlotte Mason approach read or listen to excellent classical writing.
Website design By BotEap.com2 … teach
narration. To measure what the children understand, the parent / teacher encourages them to “narrate” what has been read. By counting the important parts of reading, children show what they have learned. Alternatively, tests tend to show what children do not know, rather than what they do know.
Website design By BotEap.com3 … has made children
Books of the centuries. As students read complete, living books and learn about different events, dates, and people, they place them in their personal Century Book with their own words and pictures. Each open page covers a century. I have had students do Weather Books with one page open for a decade. Either way, it gives your child a means to see how different moments in the story relate to each other. This helps the student understand the general concepts of the story and have a point of reference for key details.
Website design By BotEap.com4 … makes children maintain a
Nature Diary and follow
Nature walks. Even in Britain, Charlotte Mason recommended that families go on nature walks every day. Now we know that walking outside is healthy. During those walks, the children drew pictures of animals, plants, and other things from nature. Apart from scientific knowledge and the ability to draw, they become keen observers, an important science, and a skill for life.
Website design By BotEap.com5 … gives children the opportunity to learn how to use
short lessons. In this method, students are exposed to and learn many subjects, but spend little time on each subject. These short lessons develop gradually as children mature. By making frequent changes to the content, the brain can focus longer.
Website design By BotEap.com6 … encourages the study of topics from classical education, including memorization of
poetry, logic Y
multiple foreign languages.
Website design By BotEap.com7 … can be used in conjunction with a
Study unit that you believe.
Website design By BotEap.com8 … is
adaptable for multi-age use and works well with large or small groups of children.
Website design By BotEap.comBooks that have helped me understand Charlotte Mason’s approach:
Website design By BotEap.comTo Charlotte Mason Education by Catherine Levison
More about Charlotte Mason by Catherine Levison
To Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreaola
For the sake of the children by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
For the love of learning by Jenny Sockey
Website design By BotEap.comAll are available at: http://www.amazon.com
Website design By BotEap.comOverall, we see that Charlotte Mason had a deep understanding of her students and communicated well with those who teach children.
