Charlotte Mason Summaries
Charlotte Mason's ideas are too important not to be understood and implemented in the 21st century, but her Victorian style of writing sometimes prevents parents from attempting to read her books. This is an imperfect attempt to make Charlotte's words accessible to modern parents. You may read these, print them out, share them with your local study group--but they are copyrighted to me, so please don't post or publish them without asking.
~L. N. Laurio
Summaries of the Charlotte Mason Series and 20 Principles
The chapter-by-chapter summaries are concise renderings of each paragraph. All of the chapter-by-chapter summaries from the six books, if printed out together, come to about 300 or so pages, the length of one of the six volumes (in other words, each one is about a sixth of the original book in length.) The short summaries are very brief (one or two page) summaries just to give a quick overview; they are shortened versions of the longer chapter-by-chapter summaries. A glimpse at the short summaries should give enough of an idea what's in each book to help you decide which volume would be most appropriate for you to start in.
Linked chapter-by-chapter summaries were posted to the CMSeries email list between Sep 2003-Jun 2004. Thoroughly re-proofread Dec 2007.
Purchase all of the chapter-by-chapter summaries in one book at Amazon.com. Also available for Kindle.
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Volume 1 - Home Education
Six lectures by Charlotte Mason's about the raising and educating of young children (up to age 9) written for parents and teachers.
Read the short summary of Volume 1
Read the complete chapter-by-chapter summary
Volume 2 - Parents and Children
A collection of 26 articles from the original Parent's Review magazines to encourage and instruct parents.
Read the short summary of Volume 2
Read the complete chapter-by-chapter summary
Volume 3 - School Education
Thoughts about the teaching and curriculum of children aged 9-12 with details and examples of books, exams, etc.
Read the short summary of Volume 3
Read the complete chapter-by-chapter summary
Volume 4 - Ourselves
Charlotte's character curriculum written to children to teach morals and self-control. Book 1 is for children ages 12-16, Book 2 is for high school students.
Read the short summary of Volume 4
Read the complete chapter-by-chapter summary
Volume 5 - Formation Of Character
Stand-alone chapters to enhance all parents, regardless of the ages of their children. Includes case studies of children cured of bad habits, examples of how education affected outcome of character in famous writers of her day, and thoughts on how youths should make the most of their last years before adulthood.
Read the short summary of Volume 5
Read the complete chapter-by-chapter summary
Volume 6 - A Philosophy Of Education
Charlotte's final book, written after years of seeing her approach in action. Though more philosophical, this volume gives the best overview of her approach and includes the final version of her 20 Principles. The best place to start for parents of older children. "It's impossible to get a full idea of what Miss Mason was doing without reading volume six..." ~Wendi Capehart
Read the short
summary of Volume 6
Read the complete chapter-by-chapter summary
Charlotte Mason's 20 Principles
What is and isn't a CM Education? Understanding her 20 Principles will help clarify what her method is all about.
Read a summary of the 20 Principles
CM Motto
Read a summary of Charlotte Mason's student's motto, "I am, I can, I ought, I will"
Purchase
Purchase all of the chapter-by-chapter summaries in one book at Amazon.com. Also available for Kindle.
2004 Leslie N. Laurio
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