Mason was a Victorian school marm who loved children. She believed that children were “whole” people with their own unique personalities and interests that should be honored.  Mason believed that children should be loved and raised through habit formation (creating routine and structure in school/life to provide security and instillation of strong work ethic/values). She believed in the need for play- indoors and outdoors as much as possible- because children learn a great deal through play (masterly inactivity).

Charlotte Mason’s approach to homeschooling involved a true “liberal arts” education. Poetry, history, art and music appreciation, classic literature, grammar/writing were emphasized, along with foreign languages, sciences (nature study), and math. Memory work for poetry and grammar were encouraged at age appropriate levels.

She constructed her school day around short, 20 minute lessons.  This idea coincides with contemporary knowledge, which espouses that the human attention span can focus on a particular topic for that amount of time. Hence, lessons are created with 20 minute activities that vary around a topic.

Mason believed in punctuality, organization, and doing one’s best on all of his/her work.  She thought that the human will is something to be guided and cultivated in children, and that we all can accomplish any task by understanding that “I am, I can, I ought, I will,” which is the natural process of human growth and development. 

By using living books, families and students should read the classics, aloud or together (early in childhood). Use books to learn about all subjects (avoid textbooks wherever possible). Utilize narration (oral and written) to share what one has read/studied and to process information. Avoid "twaddle,” or books that do not foster the imagination or emphasize ideas of depth and goodness.

A Charlotte Mason education also enjoys a love of nature and the outdoors, which provides a natural foundation in any scientific learning. An appreciation for art and music is also linked to this philosophy, which can be provided easily through picture and song study.  Handicrafts appease idle minds by allowing children to sew, build, paint, mold pottery, and work with wood.

Finally, Mason wrote that children’s spirituality should be nurtured through learning classic hymns, reading the Bible, appreciating other cultures, and exploring Latin.  Our minds can be trained and cultivated early.  Moderated with freedom to “be” and to trust one’s one interests and abilities, a child’s education becomes a life-long one.


“The question is not, -- how much does the youth know? When he has finished his education -- but how much does he care? And about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? And, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?”  Charlotte Mason, Developing an Educational Curriculum.