A Charlotte Mason Education Overview

Homeschooling.

The concept of teaching your kids at home conjures up lots of different images for people, especially since Covid-19 changed the education scene.

Prior to having kids of my own, I was never opposed to homeschooling, but it was never a passion of mine either.

Growing up, my schooling experience included:

• 6 years of homeschooling
• 6 years of Christian school (including high school)
• 4 years at the local public university to earn a degree in secondary math education

Each of my school experiences had different strengths and weaknesses. As a whole, each setting was a good experience.

Then Geoffrey and I became parents. It was now time to consider what we wanted for our own family.

We spent a lot of time discussing the pros and cons of different school options. At last we decided to homeschool our kids using the Charlotte Mason Method.

I’ve been researching the Charlotte Mason Method for a few years now and the more I learn, the more I love it.

The amount of information about this philosophy of education used to be scarce. Now there is a ton of information to sift through and it is easy to become overwhelmed.

In this post I will start with why the Charlotte Mason Method is an excellent fit for our family. Then I will share the big picture of what this type of education looks like for all 12 years.

Our Priorities

As Geoffrey and I talked about what we wanted for our kids’ education we came up with a list of priorities. Those things include, but are not limited to:

• Teaching from a biblical worldview. 

The conviction needs to be that all truth originates with God. Knowing God’s Word is the truth and won’t return void, we seek to interpret all of life through the lens of Scripture. 

• Facilitating lots of opportunities for conversation. 

This fosters the Scriptural priorities of discipleship and growing in wisdom.

• Using books written by authors who are passionate about their subjects.

Learning from people who are excited about a topic increases the joy of learning. It also provides regular reminders of God’s greatness and creativity since all things have been made by and for him.

• Covering a wide range of topics. 

This allows our kids to learn, grow, and discover their unique giftings and passions. It also helps our kids to love others better through the knowledge and skills they gain.

• Allowing our kids to learn at their own pace. 

While we don’t want to plod along, we also don’t want to rush through material so we can say we’ve done it. If our child is struggling we want to be able to adapt to meeting them where they are at. If they grasp a concept there is no need to belabor the point.

• Having a scope and sequence that was both thorough and flexible. 

It is important that we have a plan and vision for where we are headed. At the same time we want to be able to adapt to our family’s unique priorities and circumstances.

• Allowing out kids to be grouped together as much as possible.

This is to help encourage friendships amongst our kids. But it is also to help keep me sane while juggling the education of four different grades.

• Shifting responsibility more and more to the students as they grow and mature.

Our primary responsibility is to train our kids to love God and others. When they are young they’re to obey us and the Lord. As they get older we want to transition them to being responsible for themselves before the Lord.

The Charlotte Mason Method

The Charlotte Mason Method meets all these criteria. When I am following the foundational principles for each subject, our family thrives.

I don’t perfectly implement the method Charlotte Mason lays out in her books. Even so, the fruit of following her method imperfectly have been life changing and life giving in our home.

That does not mean it’s always easy. It’s not. It’s a sanctifying and hard work. Some days are discouraging and wearying. But I believe the work is worth it.

Every type of education has pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses. I don’t know if we will homeschool until our kids graduate high school. But if we do, I wanted to make sure that I could see where we were headed and how all the pieces fit together. The Charlotte Mason method allows for that.

I couldn’t find a resource that showed me a concise overview of a Charlotte Mason Education. So I created it myself.

Below is the culmination of a lot of people’s hard work and research. All the resources linked have brought joy and delight to our homeschool. My prayer is that it is a helpful tool for parents to see the beauty of a Charlotte Mason Education.

To access all the linked resources USE THIS PRINTABLE PDF instead of the images below.

Thanks for reading!