What is the Charlotte Mason Method?

Charlotte Mason was an early 20th century educator whose philosophy profoundly affected education in Britain at the time. Her methods and philosphy were vastly different than the educational philosophies of her time. In England at the turn of the century education consisted primarily of the three R's-reading, writing and arithmatic plus the memorization of facts such as dates and names. She believed in an education just as rich in the humanities or liberal arts and that education should be centered on the child.

Personally, I see education in America turning into just as grim a machine as British education was 100 years ago. Our children are pushed to read and write reports in kindergarten. They must remember long lists of facts long enough to pass the yearly standardized test but it is impossible for them to hold them in their mind permanently. We need to return to an education that actually educates our children, as opposed to turning them into work horses whose only job is to secure the district's funding for the next year. --Sorry, I will not get off my soapbox!

In the CM method we don't teach our children from bland textbooks. Textbooks, except perhaps on the collegiate level, are only able to give a brief overview of the subject. We want our children to do more than scratch the surface, we want them to become passionate about their studies. Whole books and living book are just two of the phrases you will become familiar with if you choose this path. Books that are written by authors passionate about the subject and able to convey that passion to our children are worth more than a school full of text books.

Charlotte Mason taught children to love learning for its own sake, to live as one with the natural world, to appreciate art, and to become well-rounded human beings. Once a child has learned to read, we as parents need to step away as teachers and instead become guides for our children's education.