Editor’s Note, by Richele Baburina In 1909, the ink barely dry on her diploma from the University of London, a young woman by the name of Irene Stephens traveled north to join Charlotte Mason’s House of Education.[1] Her role at Ambleside was twofold—with a degree in mathematics and astronomy, she would serve as Lecturer in …
Editor’s Note: The July 1917 issue of The Parents’ Review was the “Baby Number,” dedicated to giving parents guidance for the early years. Charlotte Mason called upon several trusted thinkers and friends to contribute articles discussing activities for children younger than age six, when “definite lessons should begin.”[1] To treat the topic of books for …
A question I commonly hear from home educators (both men and women) is how to integrate spirituality with the mundane tasks of home and work life. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes said that God has “set eternity in the hearts of men” (3:11, NIV). At some time or another we all crave a deeper and richer …
Editor’s Note: Charlotte Mason wrote in Home Education that “At six or seven, definite lessons should begin.”[1] What then for children younger than six? Is there a Charlotte Mason education for them? The question has prompted endless discussion and debate. Fortunately, Mason herself provided some clarity back in 1917. As the editor of The Parents’ …
Editor’s Note: In 1836, the Home and Colonial School Society established a teacher training school modeled after the ideas of Swiss educational reformer Johan Pestalozzi. The school’s first teacher was Elizabeth Mayo, an educational reformer with the distinction of being the first woman ever employed in England to train teachers. Twenty-four years later, the college …
In my previous article I shared some reflections and conclusions from my research into music appreciation in the PNEU. Many of you do not need to be convinced to include music appreciation using Miss Mason’s methods. Instead your question is, “What do I do now?” How can we apply what we have learned from the …
Editor’s Note: From time to time I am asked about apparent contradictions in Charlotte Mason’s writings. For example, we are told that narrations are to be in the child’s own words. And yet when it comes to Bible lessons, Mason says that while narrating, the child should be “keeping as close as he can to …
Editor’s Note: Marjorie Evans graduated from the House of Education in 1899.[1] Six years later her first article appeared in The Parent’s Review, entitled “Beauty as a Factor in Education.”[2] The following year “[s]he, with Laura Faunce, started the first Girls’ P.N.E.U. Day School in London.”[3] Shortly thereafter she returned to the pages of The …
Editor’s Note: Laura Faunce graduated from the House of Education in 1899. “Trained by Miss Mason herself, she made her principles her own and her lessons were delightful and appreciated by her pupils, as were the addresses which she gave from time to time to PNEU audiences.” One of those addresses we share today: our fourth in …