When we decided to home educate our children, I never imagined the many homeschool methods and philosophies that were available to choose from. I simply thought that we would follow suit (or be required to) with whatever academic goals per grade the local public schools were following, and try to recreate those same methods in our homeschool. About halfway through our first preschool homeschool year, I realized I could never recreate the public school system in my home, because in all honesty, that system isn’t meant for the home.
While I could just pick a curriculum for each subject and follow the curriculum straight from the given schedules and then leave it at that (because this is an option I’ve attempted), there was just something missing. The atmosphere I envisioned for our homeschool still felt like it was dictated by someone else who didn’t quite understand who or how each of my children learn. I felt controlled by the schedule and there was no room for genuine family rhythms or core family beliefs. It was becoming a chore to complete the lesson plans, the eagerness to learn was dwindling, and this was exactly some of the reasons why we didn’t put our kids in a public classroom.
So, with an immense amount of prayer, and allowing myself to be under the grace God has given, I took a deep breath and I began researching the different homeschool methods and philosophies. Even though I like bits and pieces of different homeschool methods, nothing was quite like what Charlotte Mason had to offer.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing and undoubtedly other fruitful homeschool methods out there. However, Charlotte Mason struck out to me in a way that seemed wholesome, and simple. For example, her method of short lessons was fascinating because until recently, I thought I had to do school for 6-8 hours a day with my children in order to give them a full education. This came to me with such great relief. My view on educating children, especially my own children, was completely turned upside down, but in the best way. She brought a Christian world-view into every subject, intertwining all subjects to connect as one in such a way that makes one see life as a beautiful, good, and virtuous gift from our heavenly father. This was what was missing in our home education.
Charlotte Mason opened my viewpoint of our home education further than the academics. She highly advocates for children’s free play, time in nature, and giving children only rich, living books to feast on; the Bible being the best living book of them all. Sure, we read our Bible together, but it became a separate “subject” in which started to become unrelated to our other subjects. This might sound so minor to someone else, but for our family, we believe God is in everything. For he created everything, even math, science, language arts, and history. We (my husband and me) want to teach our children that we can see God all around us, and even our smallest child can be taught this truth. Our home education needed to reflect this truth, and Charlotte Mason helped me, as a mother and a teacher bring that to life.
I’ll spare the details about who or what Charlotte Mason is in this post (although, they’re great details for a later blog post, I’m sure!). I will let you discover that for yourself if you haven’t already, through her own books and other complementary books. If you’re new to Charlotte Mason and curious about her philosophy so many homeschool families use today, I recommend her original volumes (there are six, but Home Education would be my suggestion for a starting point), For the Children’s Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay or Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola, to start.
Since being introduced to Charlotte Mason, I have been in a season of longing to learn more myself, hungry for God’s Word and passionate about giving my children an education I could only dream of having. An education full of rich literature, poetry, art, music, nature observation, and history which all weave together pointing us to God’s greatness and love for us.
I call this homeschool journey of ours “Charlotte Mason Inspired” because although I do hope to continue adapting her methods and philosophies in our home education, I know I will never reach the “perfect” CM home education. We are still our own unique family dynamic but intentionally focused on CM’s way of creating an atmosphere, a discipline and a life overflowing with a deep desire for God and all He blesses us with through learning at home.
To follow along with our CM inspired home education journey, I hope you come join us over on Instagram @ourcoopernest and reach out! I love connecting with other homeschool families!
