Editor’s note: This article first appeared on Sage Parnassus. Back in March when I wrote “Lections for Life,” I was perhaps embarking on a foolish mission. Who would write about a book he had never seen? In any event, I thought I had enough evidence to make a reasonable conjecture as to the content of the “Lectiones by Spottiswoode” assigned …
Editor’s Note, by Paul Hughes: In 1929, the PNEU branch in Melbourne, Australia met to hear the words not of a great educationalist, but of an ordinary mother. Her name was Mrs. H. J. Hannah, and she explained that Charlotte Mason’s call to parents makes us exclaim, “Who is sufficient for these things”? But Mrs. Hannah doesn’t end …
Editor’s Note, by Tessa Keath: In June of 1915, World War I had been underway for almost a year. Charlotte Mason wanted to speak to the children about the war. With the harsh realities they were facing each day, we might have expected her to speak words of comfort. Instead, she told the children that …
When I first started learning about Charlotte Mason, I realized pretty quickly that nature study was important. If I was going to attempt a Charlotte Mason education in my home, I would have to figure out what nature study is. I looked in Mason’s volumes, but it wasn’t clear to me exactly what I was …
Editor’s Note, by Nicole Williams: Many people seek a Charlotte Mason education for their children because of nature study. They know intuitively that time outside is important, but once faced with actually doing “nature study” they are unsure what is required of them. In the following article, C. Cooper, a former House of Education student, …
Editor’s note: In October of 2017, we shared our first Parents’ Review article by Irene Stephens, entitled “Mathematics.” In the Editor’s Note, we highlighted the pivotal role played by Miss Stephens in the development of Charlotte Mason’s distinct approach to math instruction. We also shared some elements of Stephens’s life chronology, including how she ended up at …
Charlotte Mason (1989b) derides “nice little history books for children” that are mere outlines or childish retellings (p. 278). The formidable Plutarch’s Lives definitely does not fit into that category. This staple of Citizenship has been of particular interest to me and hearing others’ personal stories and experiences has been a delight! I want to share …
Editor’s note: On December 3, 1912, The Times Educational Supplement published a letter entitled, “Miss Mason on the Montessori System.” The following year, five introductory paragraphs were added to the letter, and it was published as Chapter VII of The Basis of National Strength. Two years after that, the original text of the 1912 letter (without the added paragraphs) …
I consider myself to be a Charlotte Mason enthusiast, and most of my friends share my love for all things Mason. But lately I have realized that sometimes my enthusiasm is the thing that prevents me from sharing her great and beautiful ideas. As I have grown in knowledge and understanding, my vocabulary has changed …