Religion and Charlotte Mason

Charlotte Mason did require bible study, and there is no doubt religion and Christianity in particular played a major role in her teaching philosophy. This is most likely the reason that most resources today have a decidedly Christian slant on CM methods and that secular resources are few and far between.

Personally, I have avoided many secular groups and resources over the years for the simple reason that they are hell-bent on stamping out any hints of Christianity even if it means discarding the baby with the bath water. Perhaps I am coming at this from a different direction. I have never been a Christian nor was I raised in a Christian home. I have no bitter feelings about Christianity. As a major world religion I believe that even non-Christian children benefit from some historical and theological education about Christianity, just like they benefit from studies of Hinduism and Judaism. Why is every one so anti-Christian these days, I just don't get it?

Or perhaps I do. A small percentage of Christians have used their basic belief systems to shut out the rest of the world and reality. But, and a big but here, this really is a small percentage. I know far more non-Christian and secular families that have shut out anything that may allude to Christianity, no matter how minute, just for the fact it alludes to Christianity.

Yet Christains as a whole are not without blame. A memoir--when I was in public high school we had a year of history that covered world religions. Christianity was not one of these religions covered. Not because of the 'separation of church and state', but because some Christians had gotten up in arms over it. It was okay for the class to study the basis of myth in one religion but not Christianity. Jesus was a living man at one point, and regardless of the views on his parentage, a good portion of history revolved around this man. Yet, we could not study the man that was Jesus because a few people were offended that he would be debased to the point of being a man. Um, not a good way to spread your views, people.

So non-Christians, listen up. Use the CM method but skip the bible study. Please integrate another form of formal morality study though. There just isn't enough morality in today's world. For us, we use Buddhist and precept study for our formal morality training. Also, please do not try and avoid Christianity in your teachings or only teach of the bad things done in the names of God and Christ. There are two sides to every coin and not all of Christianity is the inquisition and burning people at the stake (in fact very few were actually burned, most were hung...but I digress).

Christians, you listen up to. I don't care if you are old earth, new earth or something in between. Study evolution even if it makes your skin crawl. How else will you debate and possibly win an argument with those of us who do trust evolution to be true? Study other religions, compare them to your own. You may find that the divide between those of differing beliefs isn't as wide as you thought. And, most importantly, put down the King James version of the bible for awhile and study other versions. This will give you a more rounded view of your religion and may also deepen your faith.

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Welcome!

I think I will start with an introduction. My name is Joshin. My husband Mue and I are homeschooling are two boys, ages 4 and 9. There are many reasons a family chooses home education over public or private schooling. Ours is actually quite simple--we tried public school and were horribly let down by a system that no longers value education.

Our desire for our children is simple as well. We want them to be self-led learners that explore their world because they want to, not because they must pass some state mandated test. We want learning to be a passion that will help them achieve their goals in life, what ever those turn out to be. While we are planning for college, we don't see that as an absolute. It depends on their own passions and goals in life. We will not be holding their hands through all of adulthood, and unfortunately the school system today is breeding a generation of children that are ill-equipped for the adulthood that faces them outside the classroom doors. We do not want to raise our children to remain children, but to become adults that are still able to have a child-like wonder.

We are also Buddhist, which does put us on the opposite spectrum of many homeschoolers. Homeschoolers as a general rule fall into two camps--Christian and secular. We lean more to the secular side but we do integrate some of the most basic teachings of Buddha into our school days. We follow many of the educational theories of Charlotte Mason and classical education in our daily lessons.

My goal for this site is two-fold. The first goal is to form, slowly but surely, a repository of information on secular and non-Christian Charlotte Mason methodology. This will include book lists, a rudimentary scope and sequence, as well as my own thoughts and addendum. Our method is not completely Charlotte Mason, it is more CM-inspired but integrated with my own thoughts on what a good education consists of. I would like to provide a guide to home educators that are new to home schooling or to CM.

The second goal is to chronicle our own homeschool journey, both the ups and the downs. I am a writer by trade so my method of doing this is writing on a blog. I hope to inspire other families with our day to day activities, as well as give a realistic view of homeschooling with both the ups and the downs.

In the coming weeks, months and years this site will grow to become, I hope, a resource for those that need it. If you would like to learn more about me, please visit my other blog detailing my Buddhist journey. You can find that in the sidebar.

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About the All-Free Secular Charlotte Mason Curriculum

 ***Note: The actual schedule, scope and sequence and book lists will be up on the site within the next few weeks. Thanks!***


I really hate the word curriculum, but this is more or less what I am a presenting--
Book lists
Scope and Sequence
Suggested weekly calendar of activities

Before you read through and implement the all-free secular, CM-inspired curriculum I want to make a few points.

1) Everything listed in the booklists is available for free, online. Please substitute or supplement from library and purchased sources as you see fit. The goal of this book list is to amass a free secular CM curriculum similar to the ones already offered that are Christian-based. I want the bulk of it made up of free materials, so families may benefit from it regardless of their financial standing.


2) Currently it is only available for years 1 through 3. I will be adding to it as I am able. Please keep in mind I am only one person who is homeschooling two young children as well as working full-time from home. My goal is to eventually have years 1 through 12 plus an early learners section published on the site.

3) I will be making recommendations for books and other items from time to time that are not free. If you decide to purchase them, and decide to do so through Amazon.com, please consider doing it through the link I provide. I am putting up this information for free, with no strings attached, and purchasing through my Amazon links will give me a small amount of compensation for my time.

4) Most importantly--neither this, or any other curriculum, is carved in stone! Every child learns differently and at different paces. Use this information but don't be afraid to deviate from it. The schedule is just a suggestion, not written in stone. Make your own schedule or ignore schedules completely. Take from this what is useful to you and forget the rest.

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Chronological History

One of the things that drew me to Charlotte Mason was the way history was taught, chronologically. Mue and I had been discussing the best way to tackle history with our oldest, Taro. We both agreed it made more sense to tackle it chronologically than the way we had been taught--very U.S. centric with world history thrown in as an after-thought.

There are generally two camps with history in most CM circles. The first involves starting with prehistory in year 2 or 3 and working up to modern times in year 12. The second is starting with (European) medieval history in year 3 and working up to modern times in year 6 or so, then repeating the cycle but starting with prehistory the second time through.

The benefits of the first method is you get much longer to dwell on each hostorical period and place. You move from the beginning to the present and there is no repeating information. The primary downfall with this method is that some aspects of history are taught when the child may be too young to get in depth about the subject matter. As they aren't repeated, the child doesn't have a chance to get a more in depth understanding of the subject matter when they are older and more mature.

The Pine Branch take on this? We use method 1 as there is a lot of history to absorb out there and coming back to a period a few years later adds repetition, which aids learning, but also gives the child a chance to become excited once again about the time period. If ancient Egypt was a struggle perhaps Mesopotamia will be more exciting.

In the end, use whatever method suits your children and family best.

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Charlotte MasonTerminology

Like anything thing in life, the CM method has its own set of terminology. Understanding the terminology before delving much deeper on this path is necessary.

There are two main types of books to creating a well rounded education-living books and whole books. These are the central pillar that your education plan is built around.

Living books-A living book is writen by a single author who presents facts in story form. The Little House on the Prairie series are an example of living books.

Whole Books-Whole books are great works of non-fiction, written by a single author or pair of authors, who are passionate about their subject. A text book on the galaxy is not a whole book, but a book going in depth about Jupiter by a single author would be.

Twaddle-Charlotte Mason also made mention of 'twaddle'--books that are not written well. Many followers of her method today seem to lump a lot of modern popular fiction into this category and favor. I do not agree with this. Yes, most books BASED on movies and TV shows fall into the twaddle category, but I refuse to lump all popular fiction into this category. I also don't believe twaddle is harmful as long as your child is still studying whole and living books and reading twaddle for fun. My son is a huge fan of Star Wars and reads many of those books. They inspire his imagination though they would technically fall under the twaddle category.

Narrations are the way our children share their knowledge with us. There are two forms of narration.

Oral Narration-Younger children use spoken narration to share their knowledge on a subject. This is as simple as an informal speech explaining what they gleaned from their studies. Unlike a traditional exam, a narration focuses on what they do know instead of punishing them for what they don't know. Oral narrations include--but aren't limited to-speeches, plays, play-acting with toys, and dictation. Dictation is when the child tells us what they want written down, and we oblige. In general, children use oral narrations until their writing skills are honed and they have the basic mechanics down, usually between 9 and 12 years old.

Written Narration-Older children who have mastered the mechanics of writing begin using written narration to share what they have learned. Essays and reports are the common ways to implement written narrations. Less common ways include script writing, notebooking and journalling. Written narrations can be combined with oral narration.


There are the primary terms that are used across all subjects in the CM methodology. I may add more terms as time passes.

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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.

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