One of the main aspects of a Charlotte Mason education is the wide variety of subjects that the students learn. From art and hymn study all the way to citizenship and handicrafts, Miss Mason has a good argument for learning a huge variety of subjects. In this episode, I explore the reason behind teaching so many different subjects even when it isn't always easy. As Miss Mason said, “It is at our peril that we remain too long in any one field of thought.”

Learning to read is hard work and takes years to master. Charlotte Mason describes the specific way to do reading lessons in her book Home Education on pages 199-222. In this episode, I explain the atmosphere behind the lessons. The books we use, the way we use our time with reading lessons, and our attitudes all contribute to the atmosphere of reading lessons.

ADHD wasn't diagnosed very much until the mid 1900s. Charlotte Mason was at the end of her life around that time, so it is very likely she never heard of ADHD. But we all know that the habit of attention is dwindling in many children as well as adults because of our current way of life. Because of this, we can all benefit from some wonderful techniques that Miss Mason used in her school. She said "children have naturally great power of attention." And following her methods yields great results in people with or without ADHD.

Charlotte Mason said that education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life. In this episode, I explain what she meant by the atmosphere of education and what that can look like in a home.

Charlotte Mason never intended for the teacher or the mother-teacher to be the source of all knowledge. She said, "The characters in the books we know become our mentors or our warnings, our instructors always; but not if we let our minds behave as a sieve, through which the whole slips like water." In this episode, I talk about how books have taught my children more that I could have ever taught them alone.

When we talk about “the real world” we mean reality–things that are not fictional. People are often concerned that education does not prepare students for The Real World. Is a Charlotte Mason education better or worse at preparing scholars for their futures? Let's talk about it.

Rewards are a natural part of God's plan for us. But if we use rewards in the wrong way, it can do a lot more harm than good. In this episode, I shine the light on some hard truths about our reward system and give some ideas on how we can move forward in the right direction.