Charlotte Mason: The Simplest Homeschool Ever

The Top Five Reasons a CM Style is the Simplest Homeschool

• 1low cost -- fantastic living books can be found for free online or at your library.
• 2quick -- no silly busy work; you get right to the matter at hand with narration.
• 3easy -- Once you internalize the principles, a CM education comes easy. You don't need special products or tools.
• 4lots of online support -- there are blogs, forums, and carnivals all devoted just to CM education.
• 5it works -- CM education, although gentle, offers a strong academic foundation that would carry your children through whatever future aspirations they have.

Essential Components of a Charlotte Mason Education

• 1

  Narration

  
  Narration is telling back what was read (or listened to). This is a cornerstone technique for assessing learning and is a stepping stone to composition writing.
• 2

  Living Books

  
  Living books are timeless, classic, alive, and filled with worthy ideas. Living books can be used in all academic areas -- science, math, history, and the arts. Generally speaking, textbooks are not living books.
• 3

  Living Math and Science

  
  A living approach to math and science emphasizes the realness of these subjects with hands-on experimentation, manipulatives, and real-world activities.
• 4

  Timelines (Book of Centuries)

  
  Keeping a record of events in an ordered chronological format is important for learning the overall scope of history.

The Fine Arts

• 1

  Artist Study

  
  

  Art is easy with CM. Simply choose one artist for a 6-12 week period.
  
  Potential Artists:
  Picasso | Gauguin | Monet | Cassatt | Vermeer | Audubon | Bruegel
  
  Each week study one work of art by that artist. The child should narrate back the painting, explaining what he sees.
  Over the course of the term, the continued exposure to that artist's works will create a familiarity so that the child can identify that artist's works in other contexts.
  
  For details about a Charlotte Mason artist study visit this lens.

  
  

  

• 2

  Composer Study

  
  

  Music is easy with CM. Choose one composer for each 6-12 week term.
  
  Potential Composers: Mozart | Bach | Verdi | Tchaikovsky | Chopin
  
  Each week or even more often, listen to this composer's works! After the term, you'll be thoroughly familiar with his style. Visit this lens for more specifics about a Charlotte Mason composer study.

  
  

  

Nature Study

More Charlotte Mason Inspired Areas

• 1Shakespeare
• 2Poetry Study
• 3Hymn Study
• 4Drawing