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Charlotte Mason Education: How to Be Inspired as an Eclectic Homeschooler
Eclectic homeschooling is all about choices. Often as homeschoolers we talk about creating a customized education for our children, but then we lose our way as we follow a specific model or method for homeschooling. We begin to do the very thing that is the opposite of customization… we adhere to the “rules” of a philosophy, and then end up teaching the curriculum that has been laid out according to that specific philosophy instead of teaching the child.
It’s an easy trap to fall into. There are a lot of great philosophies, methods, resources, and curriculum. If you find a particular one is a good fit for your children, then of course you should embrace it.
But we want to encourage you not to let it dictate how you teach everything to your unique children. Take the parts of any philosophy or method you like and that work for your children and leave the ones behind that don’t.
A Charlotte Mason Education
One of the educational philosophies we draw from is based on the ideas of British educator, Charlotte Mason. According to Simply Charlotte Mason,
“The Charlotte Mason method is based on Charlotte’s firm belief that the child is a person and we must educate that whole person, not just his mind. So a Charlotte Mason education is three-pronged: in her words, ‘Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.'”
Key components of her philosophy included the following (and are perfect for the eclectic homeschooler as well!):
- the importance of habit formation
- the use of living books along with a natural approach to language arts
- the study of nature
- art and music as a part of children’s education
4 Charlotte Mason Concepts Eclectic Homeschoolers Can Embrace
Let’s look at how you can incorporate these four components as an eclectic homeschool mom.
#1 Focus on Habit Formation
Habits are the foundation of a good education for children.
Habit: a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up
Habits are extremely powerful once set and either work for our good or our bad. For example if your children have a habit of focusing on their school work, then they’ll be able to finish quicker. If they have a habit of dawdling and complaining then your children’s days (and yours) will be long, difficult, and unpleasant.
How can you encourage a habit of attention? Charlotte Mason advises to keep lessons short for your young learners! When lessons are interesting and short, your children will stay focused.
“In Charlotte’s schools the lessons for grades 1–3 were no longer than 15 or 20 minutes maximum and some subjects didn’t take that long. Grades 4–6 nudged the maximum length out to 20 or 30 minutes, and grades 7–9 increased to 30 or 45 minutes maximum.” — Simply Charlotte Mason
#2 Embrace Living Books
Living books are ones that are generally written by one author who loves and knows a lot about his or her subject. They include fiction and non-fiction books and even poetry. Just think of living books as the opposite of textbooks. Living books help the subject matter come alive for children and engage their hearts and minds. No matter what subject you are studying, you can incorporate a steady diet of living books into it.
Here are some ways eclectic homeschoolers can incorporate living books into their homeschool routine:
- Read Alouds. Reading aloud to your children cultivates relationships through a shared experience, develops language arts skills naturally, and helps children grow up to be critical thinkers. Read a variety of books to your children—fiction and non-fiction, historical novels, books about science, poetry, myths and legends… you’ll never run out of options!
- Poetry Teatime. This simple practice can help your kids both appreciate and enjoy poetry. You may find that you, too, find a love for it that you might have missed with your own educational experience. Take a look at our Ultimate Guide to Poetry Tea Time here.
Along with living books, consider a natural approach to teaching language arts. Charlotte Mason advocated using narration and copywork as the foundation for teaching language arts skills. We have some wonderful resources to get you started!
#3 Enjoy & Study Nature
Children and nature study are a natural match. And yes, pun intended! How often have you seen children get down on their knees to look at a bug? Or gaze at the clouds during an approaching storm? They want to leap into the pile of leaves, build snow forts, smell the flowers, and jump in the puddles of water on the sidewalk.
Charlotte Mason exhorts parents to encourage this interest:
“Children are born naturalists, with a bent inherited, perhaps, from an unknown ancestor; but every child has a natural interest in the living things about him which it is the business of his parents to encourage; for, but few children are equal to holding their own in the face of public opinion; and if they see that the things which interest them are indifferent or disgusting to you, their pleasure in them vanishes, and that chapter in the book of nature is closed to them.” —Charlotte Mason
So take nature walks and bring along a nature journal. Go to the zoo and watch the animals. Keep track of the weather and draw the clouds. It doesn’t have to be hard, so you can make nature a regular part of your children’s education. We have a great list of nature resources for kids here and nature printables for homeschool.
#4 Don’t Forget the Arts
Since Mason advocated that “Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life,” it’s not surprising that she encouraged the arts to be a part of children’s routine.
Handicrafts. Mason wants children to do handicrafts saying, “…another elemental relationship, which every child should be taught and encouraged to set up, is that of power over material. Every child makes sand castles, mud-pies, paper boats, and he or she should go on to work in clay, wood, brass, iron, leather, dress-stuffs, food-stuffs, furnishing-stuffs. He should be able to make with his hands and should take delight in making.” —Charlotte Mason
Picture study. Picture study is a simple way to introduce your children to works of art. While looking at the art, you can ask questions to help your children notice details or talk about what they like or don’t like about the work.
“We cannot measure the influence that one or another artist has upon the child’s sense of beauty, upon his power of seeing, as in a picture, the common sights of life; he is enriched more than we know in having really looked at even a single picture.” —Charlotte Mason
Music. Much like picture study, you can introduce your children to composers and music. The goal is to let music enrich your children’s lives. As Susan Schaeffer Macaulay shares in For the Children’s Sake, “Music! Into the drab and hurried blur of breathless twentieth-century life, allow time and enjoyment and growth for this aspect of our humanness.”
If you want ready-to-use resources that bring picture study, artist and composer spotlights, biographies, poetry teatime, and more into your homeschool without any prep, our Homeschool Enrichment Collection was made for exactly that. It’s a done-for-you collection of activities and printables that fits naturally alongside a Charlotte Mason Education-inspired approach.
Charlotte Mason Inspiration
Charlotte Mason’s methods can inspire you as an eclectic homeschooler. You don’t have to be a CM purist to reap the benefits of several of her ideas.
Whatever you do in your homeschool, whoever you follow, whatever or whoever inspires you… remember that your children and your homeschool will look different—different from your friends, or the people you read about through blogs and social media posts. Isn’t that part of the point of homeschooling, though?
Let’s give our unique kids the customized education they deserve. Charlotte Mason may just be able to help.
