CMP Review 2024-06-18

CMP Review 2024-06-18

June 18, 2024

Penelope Lively is best known today as an author of award-winning books for adults and children. What is less well-known is that as a child, she was educated in Charlotte Mason’s Parents’ Union School. But this was no brick-and-mortar school in England; Penelope was born in Cairo, Egypt, and she was taught at home.

As a child of English parents living overseas, Penelope saw England “as a place a long way from home which was nothing much to do with me.” But every term programmes came from Ambleside which immersed her in the literature and history of a country that was hers by birth but not by sight.

Penelope’s experience matched those of many who found in Charlotte Mason’s PNEU not only a source of learning but also a source of connection. In fact, the literature and history of England remained at the heart of the curriculum as long as there was a PNEU.

Jo Lloyd is an Australian home educator who has been using the Charlotte Mason method for nearly twenty years. Living in a sovereign country that yet remains in the British Commonwealth, she has a unique perspective on the history of the PNEU and its role in a “far-flung chain of Empire.” Like Penelope Lively and so many others, Jo Lloyd has found in Charlotte Mason not only a source of learning but also a source of connection.

Today we share Jo’s original and insightful reflections on the PNEU of the past and the Charlotte Mason method of today. And her article closes with an important announcement that anticipates more connection in the months ahead. Find it here.

@artmiddlekauff