Lately, I’ve been asked to share how our family ultimately decided to go with a stricter Charlotte Mason philosophy as opposed the more eclectic Charlotte Mason “leaning” philosophy that we held before. This decision has come with much thought and prayer. I was the girl who said I’d never be caught dead reading six volumes of anything other than the Word of God. To be completely honest with you, I couldn’t stand (and still can’t) how it seemed as if Charlotte Mason’s words were quoted in households more frequently than Jesus’s words. I still believe there is some heavy idolatry happening in many of the homes that claim the Charlotte Mason philosophy. I’ve had to narrow in on what the Holy Spirit is showing ME and not focus on how other homes are handling anything.
I’ve shared here pretty consistently that a couple years ago, I prayed and asked the Lord to give me a blueprint of what our homeschool should look like. I’ll be frank- it was one of those instances where I didn’t truly think He would answer me back. But before I knew it, my pen was writing faster than my mind could think, and the Lord walked me through an entire framework. He showed me a picture of a house, with a foundation, pillars/framing, and finally the walls and rooms. The foundation was the Bible verses that we would build our homeschool on. The pillars were the primary, overarching themes the Lord wanted me to teach and train my children in. He gave me seven, and they are:
- Jesus and His Kingdom- Bible/Church History/Equipping and Discipleship
- Wilderness Study- Nature Study/Wilderness
- Worship -The Arts, Hymns, Instruments, Voice
- Trades and Skills- Homemaking Skills and Trades (used for the purpose of business, hospitality, and serving the needy)
- Language- Read, Written, Foreign, Public Speaking
- Wellness and Fitness
- Critical Thinking (through History, Geography, Logic, Math)
These pillars are hit in different ways each year, which I explain in detail in this blog post. The reason I bring this up is because I truly believe every homeschool mama needs to hear from the Lord specifically before choosing a methodology or a philosophy to follow. The philosophy or method should support what the Lord showed YOU, not YOU catering your homeschool to fit what some expert said 100 years ago. The more I dug into the Charlotte Mason philosophy, the more her words gave the “how” behind what the Spirit of God had already shown me. Charlotte Mason too puts highest emphasis on our relationship with Jesus, with other focuses being nature study, the arts, wellness and health (extensively discussed in the first 50 or so pages of her first volume), language, and critical thinking. It was like the Lord winking at me as I read that first volume, and saw everything He showed me fleshed out in full detail. He showed her such similar things to what He’s shown me. Using her ideas, for me, is how I’m implementing His blueprint for my homeschool. Any wisdom she had (and she had much!) came from the Holy Spirit, whom we have full and complete access to at all times! Not only that, but the Holy Spirit, not Charlotte, knows your children inside and out, and knows what their future holds. Often when I’m reading Charlotte’s words, the Holy Spirit will expound upon them for my specific children, saying “use this, but in this way.”
Here are some key elements of her philosophy that we are implementing:
- An emphasis on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit as the “Primary Educator” and the only means by which we can truly learn anything that is good, worthy and beautiful. Furthermore, all knowledge has an end goal of closer relationship with Jesus, closer relationship with people, or closer relationship with His creation.
- Short, varied lessons. Having long, hour-long, drawn out lessons means that we can only cover a couple things per day. It also means that the child’s attention span is probably long gone, and that they aren’t giving their best work out of mental fatigue. Studies show that even university-level students can only focus their whole minds for a total of 20 minutes at a time. Our expectations of their attention span should fit their developmental stage. I love the idea of short, varied lessons. Lessons like math are 20 minutes, while lessons like poetry recitation or copywork are only 5 minutes. We have a timer and stop when the timer is done, coming back to it the next day or the next time we return to that subject. It teaches the child that there is a time for everything under the sun, a time to work and a time to rest.During “work” time, we need to bring our whole mind to bear. The children know that I won’t force an unreasonable expectation of time on their growing minds. When they see 5 minutes on the timer for copywork, they know they can do that. Varied lessons mean that if we are going to do a very heavy mental load subject like math, we do something completely different next- like singing lessons or artist study. Changing which side of the brain you’re using is as good as a break, even though you’re still getting lessons accomplished. That might mean a day that looks like Bible, Math, Hymns, Nature Study, Copywork, Spanish Practice. The children are much less likely to feel depleted if the sides of the brain being used are rotating.
- Hours per day outdoors. The Lord was very clear with me that nature study and wilderness survival knowledge should be very important in our homeschool. In a Charlotte Mason education, there are many facets of nature study, which is called Natural History. There’s nature walks and nature journaling, nature lore, formal science and lab books, and also special studies. I’m going to do an entire post on nature study alone, but this is one of my favorite aspects of our home education. In addition to Natural History, children are encouraged to spend hours outside- sweating, running, romping, playing, being free out in nature. This makes me heart so happy. To me, this is the epitome of childhood.
- High-quality literature. There’s so much we do in our parenting journey that we won’t see the fruit of until later. One thing I am already seeing the fruit of is putting an emphasis on high-quality literature. Charlotte Mason calls these books “living books.” Now, we know the only true living book is the Word of God, but what Charlotte Mason means is the book is excellently written by someone whose life’s passion was the subject they wrote about. I can attest that “living books” will revolutionize your homeschool. Good books make for voracious learners, I’m convinced. Some of my favorite book lists come from Ambleside Online, A Gentle Feast, and Sabbath Mood Homeschool.
- Handicrafts. Handicrafts are otherwise known as that which you can learn to make with your hands. It’s anything from sewing to cross-stiching to clay modeling to carpentry. From the very early years, Charlotte Mason recommends teaching children to make meaningful (not crafty, thank God) things with their hands. She also notes that the purpose of creating is to serve the community. Her students would learn to knit or sew for the purpose of making things for the needy, or giving gifts to family and friends. This 1000% hits on exactly what the Lord showed me, in training up my children to be proficient in as many trades as possible. The possibilities for handicrafts are endless: baking, book-binding, gardening, embroidery, you name it. I love this because not only will knowledge of handicrafts become a means by which you can serve the Body of Christ and your local community, but its also a means by which you can start a business or make money on the side in the future. I want to raise extravagant givers and servants, and I also want to raise shrewd and creative business owners!
These are just a few of the elements that made it clear to me that a Charlotte Mason education would serve our family perfectly. Do I think this philosophy is the best philosophy for every family? I do not. I think the best philosophy for your family is the one that undergirds what the Holy Spirit has already shown you. He knows your children through and through. He knows what methods will serve them best. If you need help with praying through your family’s Holy Spirit Blueprint, I’ve created a resource that helps you pray and journal out a homeschool framework. Check it out here.
If you want to learn more about the Charlotte Mason, check out the Charlotte Mason Research section of my Amazon Storefront here.
I’ve so enjoyed writing and sharing my heart with you. I pray that what you’ve read spurs you on in the pursuit of what God has for you and your homeschool. Be blessed, sister!
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