Develop Your Approach

Quote

"'Education,' said Lord Haldane, some time ago, 'is a matter of the spirit.' -- no wiser word has been said on the subject, and yet we persist in applying education from without as a bodily activity or emollient. We begin to see light. No one knoweth the things of man but the spirit of a man which is in him; therefore, there is no education but self-education and as soon as a young child begins his education he does so as a student. Our business is to give him mind-stuff, and both quality and quantity are essential. Naturally, each of us possesses this mind-stuff only in limited measure, but we know where to procure it; for the best thought the world possesses is stored in books; we must open books to children, the best books; our own concern is abundant and orderly serving." Charlotte Mason, Towards a Philosophy of Education

Develop Your Approach

Confused by the different homeschooling methods available? Want to know how to take the best from each to create your own approach? Let our tour through the different options get you started.

Charlotte Mason

An English educator from the 19th century, Charlotte Mason wrote several volumes detailing her educational philosophies. Her thoughts were formed from her experiences with children whom she viewed much differently than her contemporaries. She saw children as more than blank slates. She viewed education as more than a preparation for a vocation. As the title of the last volume of her works implies, "Towards a Philosophy of Education," she never felt her theories had fully arrived. Miss Mason's complete works are now available online and in published form. There have also been several books written recently that nicely summarize and bring her works up-to-date for those of us who haven't the time to delve into the original six volumes - at least at the outset. Here are just a few of the ideas we can borrow from Charlotte Mason:

Learning is a way of life. Learning isn't something that just happens from the ages of 6 to 18 from 8:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Learning is something that occurs our entire life during all of our waking hours. An ability to view every opportunity as a learning opportunity will help us provide a rich environment for learning.

Individuality of children. Children should be treated as persons in their own right. Our educational methods need to meet their needs in further developing them into who they are versus who the educator wishes or expects them to be.

Living books. All material written by adults for children that "dumb-down" the subject matter would be considered "twaddle." Rather than leaving a child with the wrong impressions these books may convey, reading books rich in literary value give a child a taste of the excitement found in reading and learning. Why read a history textbook, for example, where the subject has been dumbed-down, re-arranged and sliced into pieces when you could read a thrilling biography from the same time period.

The Charlotte Mason Method
What is a "living book"? Thoughts from Karen Andreola.
Living Books
Take a tip from our Teaching Toolbox: Living Books.

Narration. Rather than ask questions to solicit what our children know, let the questions bubble up out of the child. Have them recite a narration of the subject matter to you. This will be a telling way to find out how much they really know. You can help them fill in the sketchy areas.

Science by observation. This can be particularly effective with nature studies where the child can watch "science" happen. Allowing children to observe and record what they see in nature makes science come alive.

Art and music appreciation. Viewing beautiful works of art is a wonderful way for our children to begin to appreciate the great artists. Likewise, listening to the great composers is a wonderful way to expose our children to beautiful music. Later in life they will have a yardstick by which to judge the fine arts they come in contact with.

Art Appreciation the Charlotte Mason Way
"Why Picture Study? In order that children may be put in touch with the contribution that each famous artist has made to the world's store of all that is beautiful and worthwhile. Just as Literature introduces us to the thought of the greatest writers, so Picture Study opens the gates to the ideas of the famous artists." Article by Karen Andreola.

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