It’s happened often — probably to you too. You’re introduced by a mutual friend to another homeschooler, who smiles and asks, “What curriculum do you use?”

“We don’t use a set curriculum really,” we respond. “We use the Charlotte Mason approach.”

At this point, one of two things happens: either the other homeschooler looks at you blankly and says, “Who?” or she looks interested and says, “I’ve heard of that. How is it different from regular homeschooling?”

So then you have thirty seconds to tell who Charlotte Mason was and describe her philosophy of education. Can you do it? We’ve certainly had lots of opportunities to try — some more successful than others.

Well, we just added a brief summary of Charlotte and her philosophy of education to the Getting Started section. Hopefully, the description there will give you some ideas, and if you want more, we also recommend several great books about her and her approach. Take a look and practice your thirty-second summary.