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    31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Introduction (Day 1)

    October 1, 2013 by Brandy Vencel
    31 Days of Charlotte Mason

    For at least three years now I’ve considered doing a 31 Days of Charlotte Mason series. I haven’t done it because I’ve had a fear of commitment. I almost chickened out again this year because my version of planning was to make a cute graphic back in April.

    Yes. That was all.

    I redesigned the graphic yesterday when I realized I didn’t like it with my new color scheme.

    Ahem.

    So this post is serving as the introductory post. It’ll function like a table of contents. I’ll link up the posts as they come along, and you can always hop back here to see the latest addition to the series.

    Most of you around here know who Miss Mason is, but just in case you’re visiting or new, Charlotte Mason was a British educator in the late 1800s and early 1900s. According to the AmblesideOnline FAQ page, Miss Mason was orphaned at age 16 and never married. She devoted her life to children and their education. She was a prolific writer, leaving us thousands of written pages concerning her philosophy and practice.

    Her philosophy works well not only in large classrooms, but also in little, tiny homeschool rooms like mine. It is universally awesome.

    My goal for this series is to try and present a balance of the basic philosophical principles of a CM education along with practical ways to implement such an education. I’ve got a few number of guest posts lined up that will make it lots more fun than if it were just me rambling on, day after day.

    So … welcome to 31 Days of Charlotte Mason!

    31 Days of Charlotte Mason Post Directory

    Day 1: Introduction ← you are here
    Day 2: Children are Born Persons
    Day 3: Thoroughly Christian — CM’s 20th Principle
    Day 4: The Basics — CM 101
    Day 5: Three Educational Tools — Atmosphere, Discipline, Life
    Day 6: Education is an Atmosphere by Christy Hissong
    Day 7: Atmosphere of a Home Educating Home by Joy
    Day 8: The Discipline of Habit
    Day 9: Habit Formation 101
    Day 10: Education is a Life
    Day 11: A Rich Feast of Ideas by Amy Hines
    Day 12: What is a Living Book?
    Day 13: Christians, Charlotte Mason, and Fairy Tales by Wendi Capehart
    Day 14: The Principle of Alternation by Blossom
    Day 15: How to Get Started with Nature Study by Michelle Dawn
    Day 16: Narration by Karen Glass
    Day 17: Plutarch by Carol Hudson
    Day 18: Developing the Habit of Attention
    Day 19: Masterly Inactivity
    Day 20: CM-ing Only Children by Laurke
    Day 21: What Age to Start a Child in a CM Education by Lizzie Smith
    Day 22: What Lessons Look Like by Jen Snow
    Day 23: What is Copywork? by Jen Snow
    Day 24: On Cooking Lessons by Mary Frances
    Day 25: On Grammar
    Day 26: Why Poetry? by Celeste Cruz
    Day 27: The Flip Side of Habit Training by Naomi Goegan
    Day 28: Artist Study, Picture Study
    Day 29: Charlotte Mason and Mythology by Anne White
    Day 30: Resistant Learners — Will CM Work for Them? by Laurke
    Day 31: Finis (a list of resources for further reading, and more)

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    30 Comments

  • Reply Brittany September 4, 2020 at 9:26 am

    THANK YOU! I am starting homeschool this year with my kids and have been reading Home Education (Along with For the Childrens Sake and everything on the internet I can find!) but these posts are perfect bite-sized explanations. Although I’m doing the heavy reading, I asked my husband To read these posts because they perfectly summarize CM. thanks!!

    • Reply Brandy Vencel September 5, 2020 at 8:56 am

      Oh! I’m so glad they are helpful! ♥

  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Resistant Learners — Will CM Still Work for Them? by Laurke | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 11:46 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Charlotte Mason and Mythology by Anne White | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 11:38 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Finis | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 11:38 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Artist Study, Picture Study | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 11:35 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: The Flip Side of Habit Training by Naomi Goegan | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 11:26 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Why Poetry? by Celeste Cruz | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 11:20 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: On Grammar | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 11:20 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: On Cooking Lessons by Mary Frances | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 11:11 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: CM-ing Only Children by Laurke | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 10:54 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Developing the Habit of Attention | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 10:43 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Narration by Karen Glass (Day 16) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 10:30 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Increasing Efficiency: The Principle of Alternation by Blossom (Day 14) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 10:15 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Christians, Charlotte Mason, and Fairy Tales by Wendi Capehart (Day 13) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 9:59 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: What is a Living Book? (Day 12) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 9:59 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: A Rich Feast of Ideas by Amy Hines (Day 11) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 9:54 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Habit Formation 101 (Day 9) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 9:54 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Education is a Life (Day 10) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 9:46 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Atmosphere of a Home Educating Home by Joy (Day 7) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 9:21 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Education is an Atmosphere (Day 6) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 9:18 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: The Basics — CM 101 (Day 4) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 7:36 am

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  • Reply 31 Days of Charlotte Mason: Children are Born Persons (Day 2) | Afterthoughts August 28, 2019 at 7:29 am

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  • Reply Thoroughly Christian — CM's 20th Principle | Afterthoughts August 26, 2019 at 6:21 am

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  • Reply Olivia June 24, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    Awesome tools!! Thank you! I’m new to the homeschooling realm. Though we don’t have kids yet, I’m fascinated and want to learn more. I was blessed by two very active parents in my education and attended one of the best colleges in America, Hillsdale College. After college, I taught in a classical academy in Colorado. My husband is in the military and with the inconsistencies of military life, we are seriously considering homeschooling! Thank you so much for the tools! I’ve recently started reading the first textbook printed in America and am having a blast learning more about curriculum. I’d also love any advice you have for a beginner blogger! 🙂

    • Reply Brandy Vencel June 25, 2019 at 9:11 am

      Hi Olivia! Welcome to the world of Charlotte Mason. 🙂 Hillsdale! For years, our favorite restaurant here in town was managed by a wonderful homeschool graduate who was also a Hillsdale alum. ♥

  • Reply ~Gleanings from September~ - Reformation Acres June 27, 2017 at 8:04 pm

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  • Reply Homeschool: How To Get Started :: Which Method? June 11, 2015 at 2:57 pm

    […] 31 Days of Charlotte Mason — a 31-post series exploring CM […]

  • Reply Mommie Kate December 13, 2013 at 9:44 pm

    Wow! I am fairly new to the CM method. You have put together an awesome resource. THANK YOU!

    • Reply Brandy Vencel December 13, 2013 at 10:42 pm

      Welcome to CM! I hope you find the series helpful. 🙂

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