Start Here: A Journey Through Charlotte Mason's 20 Principles

by Brandy Vencel

When Charlotte Mason was trying to distill her educational philosophy into its simplest 20 core principles. These are the 20 most important aspects of her philosophy. Using Susan Schaeffer Macauley's wonderful book (For the Children's Sake), Miss Mason's volumes, articles from Miss Mason's magazine (The Parents' Review), the best blog posts on these subjects, and discussion questions meant to help you dig deeply, Start Here is a comprehensive guide to the big ideas governing Charlotte Mason's philosophy.Start Here is appropriate for both group and individual study. For groups that meet once per month, this is 15 months of curriculum. Individuals may be able to complete it in less time. But keep in mind that speed is not the goal. The goal is understanding and embodiment. Discussion questions are included to help tie philosophy to practice, whether you're discussing them in a group or journaling your answers.This study is a simple way to familiarize yourself with Charlotte Mason’s philosophy if you are new to it, or refresh yourself with the principles if you've already made your way through her volumes. Studying the 20 Principles will remind you of what is true -- and what is most important -- when it comes to the education of the children you love.

Genres: Education

62 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 2014

Reviews

[Lekeshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brandy Vencel did a beautiful job guiding my study of Charlotte Mason’s 20 principles. I thoroughly enjoyed the pondering pieces of how we apply or don’t apply the principles in our home and leads us to make appropriate changes.

[Laura Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels funny to write a review so long after finishing this guide, but the ideas have stayed with me so well, I think it’s still appropriate.
Very approachable, and easy-to-follow. Loved that I could dive more deeply if I wanted with further links and reading. Clarified so much of the philosophy that I had questions about, and inspired further questions.
Highly recommend for anyone wanting to wade into educational philosophy, particularly Charlotte Mason.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really helpful guide to understand Charlotte Mason's guiding principles from her own writings and from other related articles. You can go as in-depth as you choose, and if you're working on your own, you can take all the time you need.

Just a note: I have a chronic illness that impacts processing. I found it helpful to load some of the articles into a read-aloud app so that I could listen as I read, and that helped some of the ideas penetrate a little more. Doing that, I was also able to move more quickly because I didn't have to re-read every paragraph over and over.