If you like Jane Austen, then you have to read these books! Such advice as, "Thus, the morning, after breakfast (the digestion of which lighter meal is not a severe tax), is much the best time for lessons and every sort of mental work," just sounds so civilized, doesn’t it? Here is the series that inspired Susan Schaeffer Macaulay to write For the Children’s Sake, and Karen Andreola to follow with A Charlotte Mason Companion. I reviewed the first book in the series, Home Education: Training and Educating Children under Nine. Charlotte Mason, in this first book, lays forth her philosophy of child-rearing and education and stresses the importance of home as the first schoolhouse and mother the first teacher. She respects children as persons, something somewhat new in her day and age. It is helpful, if not essential, to know something of the time in which Miss Mason lived and wrote (1842-1923) in order to understand the context of her writings. She stresses the importance of much outdoor work and play, development of good habits (physical, mental, and moral), and self-government. Miss Mason gives practical tips for each subject area, including reading, narration, handwriting, copy work, spelling, dictation, grammar, composition, Bible lessons, arithmetic, history and geography, science, nature study, and art. If you have enjoyed Susan Schaeffer Macaulay’s and Karen Andreola’s works, then you really ought to read the source of their inspiration. Not an easy read, to be sure, but definitely worth the effort if you are a Charlotte Mason admirer!
-- Product Review by: Heather Jackowitz, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
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