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Charlotte Mason

1. Living Literature

Living books are the foundation of a Charlotte Mason education. Living books can be fiction, biography, nature lore, historical fiction, and even non-fiction. You can identify living literature by the following traits:

  • Written in narrative form or in a conversational tone.
  • Well-written with rich language (not short, choppy sentences).
  • Well-told, igniting imagination. 
  • Touches emotions of the reader.
  • Includes ideas (not just dry facts). 
  • Subject matter comes alive for the reader. 

2. Narration

Narration aids in comprehension and evaluation. It quickly becomes a habit when integrated into weekly lessons. Narration encourages students to read and listen with attention. Narration allows you to asses student comprehension in real time, so you can quickly address any gap in learning or misunderstanding.

Narration is an oral or written response to literature.

When introducing oral narration, students may initially need guidance in retelling the details of a story in their own words. Modeling narration and asking engaging questions will help students develop narration confidence. 

Oral narration is a precursor to good writing skills. If students are doing well with oral narration and copy work, they are ready for written narration. Written narration builds a foundation for more complicated writing assignments. 

Written narration should be used in moderation and should not completely replace oral narration. Written and oral narration are both valuable and should be used alongside one another. 

3. Recitation

Charlotte Mason calls recitation “the children’s art”. Recitation comes naturally for children. The goal of recitation is to understand and communicate the nuance of the meaning of the words, and to speak beautiful words beautifully. This process allows the student to slow down and absorb meaningful passages. Memorization is not the goal of recitation, although it is often the fruit.

4. Copywork & Dictation

Copywork is copying an assigned passage in perfect formation, including exact spelling and punctuation and using best penmanship. Copywork reinforces proper spelling habits, while also improving grammar and penmanship. Copywork is a whole language approach alternative to traditional spelling lessons.

Lessons should be short (5-10 minutes, 3 times a week). Parents should supervise lessons and gently re-direct if a misspelling emerges. 

After successfully completing copywork for a specific passage, students can progress to dictation. Dictation reinforces the practice of visualizing words, which directly improves spelling. For dictation, students transcribe the assigned passage into their copywork/dictation journal upon hearing it read aloud to them. Unlike copywork, students should not have access to a visual cue of the passage when they do dictation. 

5. Nature Journal

A nature journal is a place to record observations from a nature walk or an object lesson. Nature journal entries should include the date and location of the observation and a brush-drawing illustration of the observation. Older students should include noted characteristics and species identification. Adding embellishments such as poetry, quotes, and scripture make each journal unique.  

6. Book of Centuries

A Book of Centuries is a timeline notebook in which each century of history is given a two-page spread. Charlotte Mason insisted on keeping it simple so students could view an entire century in just one glance.

Students age 10+ should add to dates to their Book of Centuries. It will be an ongoing project over the course of their education.

A Book of Centuries is most engaging if students are involved in choosing people, dates, and events from their lessons that are meaningful to them. 

The Book of Centuries is not limited to history lessons. When learning about people/events in any subject area, add details to the Book of Centuries. Examples of things to include in a Book of Centuries are: historical events, historical figures, poems, quotes, illustrations, maps, scientific inventions, artists, etc. 

7. Special Studies

Charlotte Mason recommends slowing down and choosing a single artist, composer, and poet each term.

  • Artist Study: Choose an artist for the term, studying one of their best paintings each week. After looking at the painting for several minutes, remove the image and ask students to narrate what they have seen. Give an opportunity to create art inspired by the artist study. 
  • Composer Study: To inspire a love for music in your home, choose a composer (historical or modern) for the term. During a dedicated time of listening, play the composer’s best music. Do this at least once a week. Your student will become familiar with the composer’s style. 
  • Poet Study: Select a poet for the term. Read a poem from the selected poet once a week. Over the course of the term, students will become familiar with the poet’s style. They will start to feel comfortable in the world of poetry. Students should recite the poetry.

8. Habit

Charlotte Mason emphasizes habit training as the foundation of a quality education. Good habits lead to a disciplined, productive life. Charlotte Mason focuses on one habit at a time, for three to six weeks or until the habit is learned. This is more effective than attempting to implement a long list of new habits all at once. It allows students to master a habit before moving on to another habit. She recommends beginning the habits of attention, obedience, observation, and truthfulness. Habit training should also include things such as personal hygiene, household chores, and spiritual discipline. 

Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education is rich and we continue to pursue it in modern education. It remains popular in classrooms and homes across the world today. She emphasizes, “Our aim in education is to give a full life.”

Charlotte Mason wrote volumes of content on her unique and detailed philosophy of education. For inspiration directly from Charlotte Mason, read Home Education