A Charlotte Mason Education: A Home Schooling How-To Manual Paperback – November 1, 2000

I was somewhat familiar with CM's method, but had never read about it in depth so I purchased this book to get a quick overview of Charlotte Mason's teaching philosophy. I have been homeschooling for over 5 years and wanted to know a bit more about her method, but I didn't want to waste my time or money on the original series only to find out that this is not the method that would be appropriate for me or my children.The book has proved to do exactly what I had hoped. If your situation is similar to mine then you will know beyond a doubt whether the CM method is for you, or not, after reading this book. Catherine Levison does a wonderful job of condensing Charlotte's method and philosophy into a satisfying, affordable and quick-read guide. The author adequately conveys CM's method in way that is VERY easy to understand- making it an excellent starter book.I also purchased Karen Andreola's book, "Charlotte Mason Companion", and have only just started to read it, but so far it seems to be just as lovely, certainly much more in depth, but not as easy of a read I must say. Since Catherine's book, "A Charlotte Mason Education" has convinced me to use the CM method, I will also be purchasing "More Charlotte Mason Education" as well as the original CM 6 volume set. This book provided me with enough to get started and to zealously "stir up the gift" inside my children AND me! I didn't want to put this one down- so I didn't. I read it in a night! Well worth the time. ;o)

I devoured it the night it arrived. What I loved about this book is that it condensed the daunting six volumes of Charlotte Masons works into what I consider cliff notes. Here’s the bullet list of what you want to take away from the concepts. I now know that i want to invest in the six original works. But this book gave me enough insight to apply the techniques NOW, when I need it. I knew from reading other summary books by similar authors that I believed in the method. I’m now ready to delve into the intricacies while I’m working with our son THIS year. It was exactly what I hoped it would be, enough to get me started. I outlined concepts on nearly every other page. A quick and terrific read!One thing I also appreciate is that the author gave her own person opinions in a very gentle way. It made the book conversational and easy to read, much like discussing with a friend. I very much disagree with some of her perceptions, yet her sharing of those views on say... what she may want to censor in an art book, still added to the value of the writing. If only people could exhibit such grace on social media!I’ve just ordered her next book as well.

I think I am going to read this book every summer just to help me continue to use Charlotte Mason principles in our homeschool! I have read some of her original books, and this is a much easier read for a busy mom of small kids. I love that all of the information organized by category so I can quickly find what I need. I would highly recommend!

This book is an excellent summary of the Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. I read this in about two hours cover to cover. Each chapter is short and will give you an overview of what this style is all about. The author includes some book lists, an appendix with Charlotte Mason's weekly schedules per grades and an extensive bibliography. The topics discussed include narration, poetry, literature, composition, handwriting, spelling, foreign language, grammar, science, math, art appreciation, music, handicrafts, bible, history, geography, morals and citizenship. Each topic is discussed enough that you get a good feel for what using this approach would be like.The book is clear, well written and a perfect little gem to keep in your home school bookshelf as a future reference.The reason this book is not 5 stars is not because the author did anything terrible. The reasons are two fold: first I disagree you can teach science and math using only this approach. And because it is written from a very Christian world view. The latter is really not that problematic. The book is clear enough that you can easily apply your personal beliefs to this approach. I can easily see Judaism, for example, used instead of Christianity. The main issue really, is the way science and math are taught on a purely Mason style - in particular in the upper grades - that there's a problem.Charlotte Mason wrote her original works in the late 19th century. The technology included in her style is up to par with that period in time. It is up to the parents to update and use common sense with current technology.Still I highly recommend this book to every homeschool family out there.

I've read every book on Charlotte Mason that I could find and this is the best (A More Charlotte Mason Education is excellent also). This book is extremely well organized, concisely written and very easy to understand. I appreciate that it gets right to the point since I don't have a lot of time to meander around looking for the answers. After reading this book I felt completely prepared to begin our homeschool experience. The other books I'd read only made me think that I needed to read more because I didn't 'have the answers yet.' The organization of this book makes it easy to quickly look up any subject you have a question on and find the answer immediately. What a blessing!I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about Charlotte Mason or wanting to know how to implement her teachings in your school. It is also an excellent read for husbands, families and friends who may not fully understand the CM method. You'll want a copy on your shelf to review again and again.