How well do you understand what you’re doing as a Charlotte Mason-style homeschooler?
On a scale of 1 to 10—with 1 being “I just discovered the Charlotte Mason approach” and
10 being “I know all there is to know”—where would you put yourself on that spectrum? Today
I’m sharing 5 books that will help you continue to grow in that understanding.
Welcome to the Simply Charlotte Mason podcast. I’m Sonya Shafer.
The beauty of learning about Charlotte Mason is that, no matter where we would rate ourselves on
the scale, there is room to grow. All of us can keep learning and seeking to understand
more about our work as Charlotte Mason homeschool parents. And the best way to do that is to read.
Now, I know that it can be tempting to think, “Really? I’ve got all I can handle just
to make sure my children keep learning and growing. Please don’t add to my work load!”
But Charlotte had a great perspective on that thought. Listen to what she said:
“The labour of the mother who sets herself to understand her work
is not increased, but infinitely lightened.” (Parents and Children, p. 91)
Whatever effort we put into moving ourselves along that understanding-Charlotte-Mason-homeschooling
scale, any effort, is going to make our work lighter, not heavier. The more we understand,
the easier it’s going to get. So today I am excited to share
with you five books that will help you move along that scale and lighten your load. These are books
that I highly recommend. Some of them have been my constant companions for more than 25 years.
They have helped lighten my load, and I’m sure they will do the same for you.
Some of them are books that encourage you to keep going; they reinforce the why of Charlotte Mason
homeschooling. Others are books that add to your knowledge of Charlotte’s methods;
they help you fine tune how you homeschool. Of course, there will be some overlap between the
why and the how; there should be. But I’ll try to specify which category each book falls into,
so you can find one that will most lighten your load right now.
I think I’ll introduce them in the same order in which they came into my life.
About 25 years ago, when I first heard about Charlotte Mason homeschooling,
her approach resonated with my heart and I knew “This is what I want to do.”
The first book I read was The Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola.
Now let me take a moment to say that Charlotte’s original writings are wonderful books. Those six
volumes will definitely help you grow in understanding the why and the how of her
approach to education. I’m not highlighting them on this list for a couple of reasons: First,
I didn’t know they existed back when I first heard about the Charlotte Mason approach. It was several
years before I was able to get my hands on a copy and read them. (This was before the internet.)
And second, we talk about and quote from that Original Home Schooling Series in almost every
episode, so most of you already know about those books. I want to mention a few other books that
might be new to you. But, if this is your first time hearing about Charlotte’s six volumes,
look for a link in the show notes.
My Charlotte Mason journey began with The Charlotte Mason Companion. In this book,
Karen Andreola explains this wonderful approach to education and gives us a glimpse into how
she applied Charlotte’s philosophy in practical ways with her own children.
Each chapter concludes with questions for personal reflection or to use in a group discussion.
Probably more than any other book, this one helped me realize how Charlotte’s philosophy is not just
for the school room; it is a way of thinking that affects all aspects of our parenting and home
life. This book is a combination of why and how, all communicated in a warm, conversational style,
as if you were sitting across the kitchen table from Karen (or in the beautiful, sunny parlor of
her home) listening as she shares her knowledge and her love of Charlotte Mason homeschooling.
About the same time that I found The Charlotte Mason Companion, I also found A Charlotte
Mason Education by Catherine Levison. As the subtitle tells us, this is “A Home Schooling
How-To Manual.” It is much shorter than The Charlotte Mason Companion and written in a
completely different style. This book is a quick read that focuses on the methods, the how. I often
tell moms that it is a “bathroom book,” as in, the chapters are really short, maybe two pages,
so you can get through a whole chapter before the little ones find you and start banging on the
door. You know what I mean. If you want a quick nuts-and-bolts overview, this is a great choice.
And I loved having both on my shelf over the years, because I could pull whichever one fit
that season of life. When things were hectic and I had to grab five minutes here and five minutes
there to invest in my work as a homeschool parent, I would read the short chapters of A Charlotte
Mason Education. When things calmed down a bit and I could read for 10 or 15 minutes at a time,
I would turn to The Charlotte Mason Companion. Two different styles,
but the same love for Charlotte and her approach. By the way, let me just insert a little
encouragement for you. I did the math, and if you read for only 15 minutes a day,
by the end of the year you will have accumulated more than 90 hours of reading. That’s huge!
So don’t despise those 15-minute reading sessions. Small constant touches add up.
Let me give you another book recommendation. Not long after I discovered The Charlotte
Mason Companion and A Charlotte Mason Education, I received a catalog in the mail. (I told you, this
was before the internet!) That catalog featured another book that would become a fixture on my
shelf and in my heart: For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. What’s interesting
is that, if you read the title and the back cover, they don’t mention Charlotte Mason at all.
But those of us who have read this book know that it “devotes quite a lot of space” to her work.
Susan and her husband had in mind what they wanted education to look like for their children,
but they had a hard time finding it until they discovered a cottage school that used Charlotte’s
methods. The children’s experience at that school greatly impacted and influenced their mama.
She set off to learn all she could about Charlotte’s approach,
and this book is a beautiful explanation of it. I’d say this book is more in
the why-we-do-what-we-do category, and it is wonderfully encouraging.
So I took these three books, and the six-volume set of Charlotte’s original writings, and tried to
learn and grow all I could as we homeschooled. I kept trying to advance on that scale.
After a while, newer homeschoolers started asking me to explain Charlotte Mason to them,
and Simply Charlotte Mason was born. As I tried to answer parents’ questions about Charlotte’s
methods, I started a blog series called Subject by Subject where I simply walked
through each school subject and outlined how to teach it in a Charlotte Mason way.
When the series was finished, we gathered all those posts and put them together into a book.
It’s called Subject by Subject the Charlotte Mason Way, and it’s free to you. You
can download it at simplycm.com/subjectbysubject. I hope it will be helpful.
Then the fifth book that I want to mention today is one that came out after I had graduated three
of my children, but I was so excited to see it! It’s one that I wish I had had right in the thick
of homeschooling. It’s all about cultivating the atmosphere of your home and creating the family
culture that you desire. The book is called Mother Culture for a Happy Homeschool. It was
written by Karen Andreola after her children had graduated, and I think that timing adds even more
wisdom and depth to this work. If you want wise counsel from a homeschool parent who has finished
the course well and can look back and share out of her failures and her triumphs, you’re going
to love this book. It’s more on the parenting and home-life side of Charlotte’s philosophy
and encourages you to look after the ways of your household and yourself, because so much depends
on how you manage your life. Karen’s hope for the readers of this book is right on the back cover:
“May you find the principles on these pages to be invigorating—especially if you have a low battery.
May they strengthen you in your on-going efforts to create the happy home your heart desires.”
So there you have it. Five books that can help you grow as a Charlotte Mason homeschool parent.
If you want to grab a quick brush up on the methods, get A Charlotte Mason Education or
Subject by Subject the Charlotte Mason Way. If you want to remind yourself or introduce someone else
to the beauty of Charlotte’s philosophy, get For the Children’s Sake. And if you want to be
encouraged by a veteran homeschool mama sharing how she applied Charlotte’s ideas and methods
in her home, get A Charlotte Mason Companion and Mother Culture for a Happy Homeschool.
And as you read and learn through these books, you will grow in your role as a
homeschool educator and parent. And I think you will find your work lightened.
Check the show notes for links to all the books I mentioned.
Thanks for joining me. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. I’ll see you next time.