Charlotte Mason in 18 Simple Lessons

New eBook Explains How it Works

Charlotte Mason?, you may be wondering. It’s no secret that I’m an eclectic homeschooler. But what is eclectic, really? Well, for me, it’s a gathering of the best of many different methods and utilizing each of them in my own style of homeschool. In order to do that I have to research educational methods in order to know what might work for my son.



One such homeschooling method is the Charlotte Mason method.  Charlotte Mason was an educator from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s She believed that education centered around 3 areas of learning; atmosphere, discipline and life. Her approach to education centered around reading using living books, narration, dictation, and copywork, utilizing short lessons with great content. 

This method incorporates core educational subjects with a strong emphasis on the humanities: classic literature, art, classical music, and poetry. The central theme of this method is that lessons are presented in “living books” which are made up of classic literature containing lessons surrounding the core subjects.

“Self-education is the only possible education; the rest is mere veneer laid on the surface of a child’s nature.” 

~ Charlotte M. Mason

Sounds great doesn’t it? But how do you incorporate that into your everyday homeschooling? Without a lot of research, prep work or finding a curriculum that does it for you, you would need an excellent guide to know how to implement this method.

Learning from Charlotte Mason Homeschooling

Which is why I’m thrilled to tell you about this great new eBook; Charlotte Mason Homeschooling by Cindy West. Cindy has taken Charlotte’s method and explains it in 18 short and simple lessons to help homeschool moms understand the how to’s of Charlotte Mason.

She wrote the book as a guide with lessons on how to implement each part of the method. It includes Living Literature, Short Lessons, Narration, Dictation and Copywork, Living Math, Science, History and more. You won’t just understand what each part entails, but you will be challenged to begin implementing those parts in your own school. Cindy includes “homework” in each lesson, so you will know what part you are to play in the implementation.

Cindy shares ideas and tips for staying on track as well as links to resources where you can find Charlotte Mason materials and curriculum. It’s set up so that you as a homeschool mom can take it one lesson at a time, one week at a time. In the end after just one short semester you will have fully incorporated the method into your homeschool.

Charlotte Mason Homeschooling is available in a downloadable pdf eBook for only $8.95.

What’s even better is that Cindy herself has written about 2 dozen Living Books in her Nature Explorer and Living Books series. So you can find many resources right on her own page.

So what does an eclectic homeschooler like me take away from learning about the Charlotte Mason method? To encourage more curiosity in learning. I really need to allow him to explore his curiosities even more than I have been doing recently. 

Somewhere along the way, I have gotten lazy and turned to what’s easiest for ME, rather than, what is best for him. So want to allow my Little Man to explore more interest led learning.


What about you? Are you a Charlotte Mason homeschooler? Or, are you like me an eclectic homeschooler?