Results from our survey of moms homeschooling using the Charlotte Mason method.
Recently, we asked more than 250 CMers, “What attracts you to the Charlotte Mason approach?” Many of their responses referred to her emphasis on respect of the child, training in habits, character, and the training of the will.
Their replies included words like “gentle,” “natural,” “loving,” “alive,” “flexible,” “thorough,” “relaxed,” and “nurturing” to describe Charlotte’s approach to education.
Several of the moms also named specific CM methods that they love. Here are the top five methods they mentioned:
- Living books
- Nature study and time outdoors
- Short lessons
- Narration
- Music and art appreciation
Runners-up included:
- Dictation
- Copywork
For those of you who would like to learn more about those methods or some of the others used in the Charlotte Mason approach, we’ve just added a Frequently Asked Questions section, and the first entry in that section explains Charlotte Mason methods in simple, easy-to-understand language.
Take a look. More than 250 moms think you’ll find something that attracts you.
Update as of 5/30/06: When we redesigned this site, we transitioned that FAQ section into Getting Started.
Karen lives in Illinois with no state-required records. Sonya lives in Georgia, which requires a yearly written evaluation for each student to be kept on file but not turned in. Sonya’s sister-in-law lives in Iowa, which requires the whole year’s plan of curriculum to be turned in at the beginning of each school year, as well as tracking each child’s progress throughout the year. Quite the contrast. [Continue reading Records and Reports …]
We love Charlotte Mason’s emphasis on the child as a person. As a result, we feel uncomfortable with the one-size-fits-all mentality that comes with most “curriculum in a box.” We think the child’s mother-teacher should determine how quickly each child should proceed through a selected book, based on that child as an individual. [Continue reading Set the Pace …]
If you’re like us (and most CM moms), living books are good friends, not just pieces of paper glued together. But good friends — as the saying goes — are hard to find.
And the survey results agree. Next to planning and record keeping issues (the top three), the most difficult aspect of homeschooling the CM way is “finding and choosing books and resources.”
In fact, the survey respondents told us how many hours they spend per year locating and purchasing books for school:
- Less than 5 hours - 7%
- 6-9 hours - 15%
- 10-14 hours - 19%
- More than 15 hours - 57%
We want SimplyCharlotteMason to make that process simpler. Karen and I are in the process right now of entering our personal libraries (several hundred living books) into the book database. We’re hoping the database will be kind of like visiting Amazon.com but narrowed down to just Charlotte Mason-friendly books with reviews from other CM moms. You’ll be able to search by title, subject, recommended grade levels, and more. And if you don’t see the book you want in the database, you can add it.
Eventually, we want to add other types of media too, like software, audios, and videos. But that’s going to have to wait until we get these stacks of books off our desks!
Update as of 7/24/06: We’re happy to announce that the CM Bookfinder is now online!
You’ve probably noticed our little slogan: “Guidance for the beginner. Flexibility for the pro.” Here’s a quick overview of how SimplyCharlotteMason will work for both. [Continue reading Guidance and Flexibility …]
Earlier this year we posted a survey and invited homeschoolers who use the Charlotte Mason approach to participate. More than 250 moms responded, many of them new to CM. See . . .
How many years have you been homeschooling with the Charlotte Mason method?
- Less than a year: 17 moms
- One year: 64 moms
- Two years: 39 moms
- Three to five years: 69 moms
- More than five years: 40 moms
- (The rest gave non-numerical answers like “always” or “on and off.”)
Surprised? Just under half of the respondents were what we would consider beginners (two years or less).
Next we asked what they considered the most difficult aspects of homeschooling. The top three answers were
- Finding time to plan
- Planning what will be studied and when
- Keeping adequate records
It seems that no matter how long you’ve used the CM approach, planning and record keeping take the most time and effort. So we’re making those three aspects top priority in SimplyCharlotteMason.
We’ll be sharing more survey results in future updates. Stay tuned.
