“Nourish a child daily with loving, right and noble ideas . . . which may bear fruit in his life.” — Charlotte Mason
- One hour per day of structured academics, preferably in the morning
- Parent and child go outside to observe Nature and sketch what is seen
- Children be given plenty of free time to pursue interests of their own
- Parents should read aloud and have the child paraphrase the selection back
- Only “living” books should be used, where the characters are treated as living people, vs text books, wherein the characters do not come to life
- She stressed poetry and keeping nature diaries
- She also favored including dictation writing work and spelling
Charlotte Mason was born in England in 1842, did most of her work from Ambleside, and died in 1923. Her basic philosophy was that, most importantly, children should love to learn. According to popular lecturer, author, and Charlotte Mason expert Catherine Levison, “The most important thing is that they have a love of learning.” Catherine advocates in her book that parents should not get burned out but should enjoy learning along with their children
The basic philosophy includes “regular school” plus the humanities. Originally the humanities meant things people make—music, art, and crafts. Charlotte also believed this should include the study of folk art and the humanities of common people, as well as the “art” produced by trained practitioners.
A typical day using the Charlotte Mason approach would include one hour of structured academic time. Charlotte believed the parents should schedule as little as an hour per day in the morning to do serious academics, and then the parents and child should go out into nature and sketch. The children should have plenty of free time to pursue their own interests.
Charlotte grew up in the Victorian era, when children were not allowed to ask questions. Nor were they taken to museums to see fine art; they generally were not considered at all. This brought out her belief that children’s input should be valued. Her educational philosophy grew out of this. She believed that education is an atmosphere, a way of life, a discipline.
Another basic tenet of the Mason philosophy is that parents should frequently read aloud to their children and then have the children paraphrase what they have learned. This is referred to as the narration process. Practitioners of Mason’s philosophy spend a lot of time in nature, often sketching what they find, which fosters respect for nature and develops observational skills.
Charlotte ’s view on literature is another important aspect. She believed children should spend their time with whole books and “living” books, meaning that the people in them are real-life characters to whom a child can make a connection. This is different from the textbook method, in which you read about a historical event but the people are not brought to life. Mason believed in the importance of exposing children to poetry, enforcing good habits, keeping nature diaries, and including dictation and spelling in their academic time. This would be an old-fashioned education at its most enjoyable.
