Implementing the Charlotte Mason method without reading her actual words can be a challenge: after all, how do you know if what you’re doing is something truly in line with her philosophy or just the application that many others have found helpful in their own homeschool experience?
One of the things that stood out to me as I read her works is that she’s focused not on telling people to “do this” or “do that” when it comes to educating children, but rather, she’s inviting us to “consider this.”
Essentially, using the Charlotte Mason method requires a change of mindset, particularly for us who either came from the traditional school system growing up, or had our own children in traditional school setups before deciding to homeschool.
The good news is that the Internet has now made many of the great ideas of the past accessible to us by offering public domain books for free. (Public domain books are those whose copyright has expired, thus becoming, in a sense, public property or free for the public to use.)
Home Education Series
Charlotte Mason began by giving lectures on educating children, and from these lectures came the first books in the Home Education series.
Eventually, the Home Education series included the following six books:
- Volume 1: Home Education
- Volume 2: Parents and Children
- Volume 3: School Education
- Volume 4: Ourselves
- Volume 5: Formation of Character
- Volume 6: Towards A Philosophy of Education
If you are just starting out with a young child, Volume 1 is the best place to start. But if you have an older child and want to read about her overall philosophy, Volume 6 is good, too, as it’s kind of the summary of her life’s work. Volume 4, Ourselves, is one of the recommended school books on AmblesideOnline for Citizenship and Character lessons.
In addition, Charlotte Mason also wrote a series of poetry compiled in books called Savior of the World.
Four ways to read Charlotte Mason’s Home Education Series
If you want to read Charlotte Mason’s works in her own words, here are some links to help you get started:
1. Read free online on AmblesideOnline
The Home Education series is not yet available on Project Gutenberg, but you may read them for free on the AmblesideOnline website. The advisory actually typed them up personally, and even made annotations! We’ve used the AO curriculum for several years with happy results, so I’m glad to send you over. Just remember to bookmark this page so you can come back and be connected to the Philippine Charlotte Mason community!
You can read the annotated books online here: Annotated Charlotte Mason Series by AmblesideOnline Volunteers
2. Free modern paraphrase on AmblesideOnline
Alternatively, if you find the Victorian-era language a little too daunting for starters, I myself greatly benefited from the modern paraphrase that the ladies over at AmblesideOnline painstakingly put together! I’m amazed at the effort they poured into it, staying as true as possible to Charlotte Mason’s original thoughts and ideas, but making them more accessible to the modern mama.
You can access the modern paraphrase here. (Feel free to browse around the AO site, too, while you’re there! We love AO!)
3. Free audiobook on Librivox
If you prefer listening to podcasts over reading, we’ve got you covered—at least for the first three volumes! The others are still in progress. Check out these links for the free audiobooks on Librivox:
- Volume 1: Home Education Volume 1: Home Education
- Volume 2: Parents and Children Volume 2: Parents and Children
- Volume 3: School Education Volume 3: School Education
4. Purchase hard copy books
If you’re like me and you prefer hard copy books, for the Philippines, we have the following sources:
Also, do watch for our Shop Page coming soon! 🙂 Or, head on over to sign up for our free e-book so you can receive our e-mail updates!