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The Original
Homeschooling Series
by Charlotte M. Mason
It is with
pleasure that this online version of Charlotte Mason's six-volume book
series is
provided for public use. Her own words (below) lead one to
believe that she
would have wanted the truths she discovered to be shared freely with
the public, and it is hoped that her words will inspire all who teach
to use her ideas 'for the children's sake.'
NEW!The Original Homeschool Series in Modern English!Now
complete!
Nobody
need ever know you cheated, there
aren't even any page counters.
In Memoriam
- a tribute written by students, co-workers and friends of Charlotte
Mason on the event of her death in 1923. This book provides a concise
synopsis of her methods as well as personal remembrances and insight
into her personality.
Note: -- The fresco
at the Spanish
chapel at Santa Maria Novella, Florence (John Ruskin called this
fresco the 'Vaulted Book') is
pictured online. Charlotte Mason discusses the top
and bottom
of one wall in various volumes. The fresco is attributed to Andrea di
Bonaiuto da Firenze, a painter of the 1300's, but in CM's day, it was
thought to
have been done by Taddeo Gaddi and Simone Memmi. Charlotte Mason loved
the way it illustrated
her concept of the Holy Spirit gifting men with knowledge, even
"secular" knowledge.
Appendices II-V: section contains the
following: II Student Exam Work pg 271-300
III What a Child Should Know at Twelve pg 300-302
IV Exams of 12year olds pg 302-328
V Samples of Oral Lessons pg 328-359
Charlotte's
character curriculum
written to children to teach morals and self-control. Book 1 is for
children up to age 12, Book 2 is for high school students.
Stand-alone chapters to enhance
all parents, regardless of the ages of their children. Includes case
studies of children cured of bad habits, examples of how education
affected outcome of character in famous writers of her day, and
thoughts on how youths should make the most of their last years before
adulthood.
Charlotte's final book, written
after years of seeing her approach in action. Though more
philosophical, this volume gives the best overview of her approach and
includes the final version of her 20 Principles. The best place to
start for parents of older children.
"It's impossible to get a full idea of what Miss Mason was doing
without reading volume six - not only is it the volume for the older
kids, it's the last book she wrote - I think some forty years spans the
spread between volume one and volume six. Sometimes ideas she had in
volume one didn't quite work out as she had hoped they would, and by
the time volume six came along she'd refined her ideas a little more,
they got a bit more practical. WWI happened between volumes one and
six, and this mattered. Before WWI, Charlotte, in company with many of
the Imminent Victorians, had a practically messianic view of education
- it was going to change human nature, improve it, make human beings
all wise, peacable and just about bring heaven on earth. After WWI,
Charlotte Mason's ideas on all this became a little more subdued and
realistic. It's a little sad, but I think it was a healthy change. I
think a lot of CM popularizers read volume one and promote the ideas in
that book, and people think that's all there is to CM. Even without the
refining of Charlotte's ideas that occurs over the decades between
Volumes one and six, this would be a mistake because volume one says
right up front that it's for children from birth to nine. Volume three
is for the middle grades, and volume six is the book to read for about
12 and up. Charlotte did not recommend quite the same approach for all
ages. Her program for the older kids is, like the rest, wide and
generous, rich, full of ideas, good literature, art and music, but it's
also very rigorous. By high
school I see a lot more similarities with the classical approach in
terms of materials used." ~Wendi
Capehart
"It
is not that 'we' (of the
P.N.E.U.) are persons of peculiar
genius; it is that, like Paley's man who found the watch, "we have
chanced on a good thing." "No gain that I experience must remain
unshared." We feel that the country and indeed the world should have
the benefit of educational discoveries..." [Charlotte
Mason, A Philosophy of Education, pg 10]
"One
discovers a thing because it is
there, and no sane person takes
credit to himself for such discovery. On the contrary, he recognizes
with King Arthur, -- "These jewels, whereupon I chanced Divinely, are
for public use." For many years we have had access to a sort of
Aladdin's cave which I long to throw open 'for public use.' " [Charlotte
Mason, A Philosophy of Education, pg 27]
"Here
... is the key ... which we all
feel should belong to an
education that is only begun at school and continued throughout life;
these are the things that we all desire, and how to obtain them is
some part of the open secret I am labouring to disclose 'for public
use.' I am anxious to bring a quite successful educational experiment
before the public..." [Charlotte Mason, A
Philosophy of Education, pg 29]
The
text of these volumes
is public domain material and you are free to use them for
non-commercial purposes. These texts were scanned/typed and proofread
by members of the CMSeries
email list and AmblesideOnline
email list Ambleside Online is an
online
free-use Charlotte Mason curriculum.
Please
send correction suggestions or
comments to cmseries-owner at yahoogroups dot com
————— S
i t
e d e s i g n b y S t o n
e T a b l e P
r o d u c t i o n s 2 0 0 3 —————
Nobody
need ever know you cheated, there
aren't even any page counters. 
