Poll: CM Books, help.

[Trivium Academy]

Need sage purchasing advice: if you were going to get the Original Homeschooling Series by Charlotte Mason would you also purchase: select as many as you'd like.

 

Thank you

[Rebecca in GA]

A Charlotte Mason Companion, also by Karen Andreola. A must-have!

 

Cindy Rushton has an e-book called "A Charlotte Mason Primer," but I don't know a thing about it (yet!). See the link below if you're interested. I didn't care for Catherine Levison's books.

 

http://www.cindyrushton.com/CMPEBOOK.html

[cajun.classical]

I second the Charlotte Mason Companion. This was great for illustrating the vision and beauty of a Charlotte Mason education. From there I read the Original Series, which I also highly recommend. The Levison books are good too; they are more nuts and bolts implementation, especially the second book which I liked better than the first. Happy Reading.

[Tami]

For your kid's ages, the Original Series, Volume 1 is all you need. Once you read CM"s original writings carefully, you'll see that Cindy Rushton and Andreola's interpretations of CM method can be quite different from the originals.

 

I found Levison's books to be the most "pure" CM, and a good "how to" to get you started straight away. The original Volume 1 is required reading for implementing the method. Really not hard to read, imo. I like the new series in modern English from AO.

 

Been loving' CM for many years now. It really suites our home and my teaching style. It is a good balance of mom-directed learning and "unschooling" or "Masterly Inactivity" as CM called it.

 

Best wishes to you!

[SandraDumas]

The Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. THough I really liked CM Education and More CM Education, the CM Companion is the one that shows the heart behind it, and is just so beautiful and inspiring.

 

Though I have moved in the opposite direction you're moving, from CM more towards Classical/traditional, I love this book and I won't ever let it go.

[MicheleinMN]

I never cared for the Karen Andreola version of CM. I do, however, really like the Levison books.

 

HTH,

Michele

[Rhonda@LivingWater]

for someone truly wanting to integrate Charlotte Mason methods. Also, I found Book 6, A Philosophy of Education, helpful and especially liked Chapter 2Children Are Born Persons, and Chapters 5, The Sacredness of Personality and Chapter 6, Three Instruments of Education. I like Catherine Levison's books especially More Charlotte Mason Education.

I also enjoy Susan Schaeffer Macaulay's book For the Children's Sake.

That said, Charlotte Mason Companion is still my absolute favorite homeschool book. I re-read it every year.

All of these books have a different "flavor" which I found interesting.

[Lisawa]

A Charlotte Mason Companion, also by Karen Andreola. A must-have!

 

quote]

 

I agree.. Karen’s book is a must read and have if you implement CM in your school... its a practical book to have and easy compared to CM original work. She does an excellent job breaking it all down. *Ü* W/ examples... That’s my favorite... then Catherine’s books....

[Lisawa]

I also enjoy Susan Schaeffer Macaulay's book For the Children's Sake.

quote]

 

 

I love this one too... Have you read her book called "How to be your won selfish pig." ??

 

Its a great read for teens too....

[5wolfcubs]

I voted for the Levison books & Pocketful of Pinecones, those are the only ones I've read (haven't read the originals). I really enjoyed Pocketful of Pinecones and highly recommend it as an easy, enjoyable intro to both CM and nature study. The one negative review I read said that it was a "textbook in the form a story" which was, I believe, the author's intent! I wish there was a sequel. :)

[Hathersage]

I recommend When Children Love to Learn By Elaine Cooper.

[angela in ohio]

The original series and the Andreola book.

[Melissa B]

I've moved away from CM quite a bit, but after having read all of the above mentioned books, I sold all except:

 

Charlotte Mason's original works and When Children Love to Learn

 

I still refer back to these regularly when I begin to question our path and am looking for some guidance. They seem to have lasting benefit to me more so than the others.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

A Charlotte Mason Companion, also by Karen Andreola. A must-have!

 

 

 

Yeah...that. ;)

[Janine in Ca]

While Andreola's book is a fun read, I think it is a little *too* soft and fluffy of an interpretation of CM's writings. I love the Levison books for detail and implementation. I also like two others not mentioned: When Children Love to Learn by Cooper and You Can Teach Your Child Successfully by Ruth Beechick. Neither of these two are strictly CM but they compliment the style splendidly.

 

Many CM followers don't fully recognize how rigorous of an educator she was. Yes, the methods are more gentle but, there is order, discipline, structure and lots and lots of content to her methods. I know people who call themselves CM educators who pay much attention to nature study and fine arts but who look the other way when they read about the early foreign language, Plutarch and the incredible level of liturature which she required.

 

Also, I second the option of reading the modern language version of the original series. Nothing beats the original, but CM was tremendously wordy and went off on many tangents (which were relevent in her day but today we often don't know to whom or what she is referring). AO has done a wonderful job at distilling the main points of the readings and presenting them clearly.

Janine

[Rebecca]

I voted for Levinson. I recently bought both her books and have found them really helpful.

 

I also voted "other" and that was for anything by Sheila Carroll because I have really found her writings to apply Charlotte Mason in a wonderful, living way.

 

As an added note: I also own Pocketful of Pinecones. I love it. It is refreshing, inspiring, and nurturing. I love CM companion too- but I think to truly "educate" yourself CM I would go with those other books/authors.

 

Also, I, personally, did NOT like Penny Gardner's book and returned immediately- but that was just me and it was also a few years ago before I really knew that CM was for me.

 

HTH,

Rebecca

[BizyPenguin]

I'm going to re-purchase the Levison books. Good luck!

[Trivium Academy]

I will get books 1 & 6- not sure about Modern vs. Original, I'm reading it with someone so we'll decide together.

 

I have Levison's CM Education and I'm reading More CM Education but I WANT this book. I've been doing this all along in many areas and other areas I need to improve but I already knew that. It's nice to read something that was already close to your heart!

 

I have and like Andreola's Companion but Levison's More CM is much better for practical uses in my humble opinion.

 

Pocketful of Pinecones is a wait and see, I have Comstock's Nature Study Handbook on its way and that may be all I need. I've been reading sporadically about nature study for 2 years now.

 

Thank you ALL for your input and help! I didn't want to overbuy and the library is taking so long...I'll be back at Easter or maybe before when I get this all worked out. It's just a time to keep too much outside influence away. Happy Homeschooling!

[Rebecca in GA]

Here's a link to a free sample of a CM habits book that you might like to see:

 

http://simplycharlottemason.com/books/layingdowntherails/railssample/

[Plaid Dad]

I voted for the original CM series simply because I see so much stuff being called CM that has nothing to do with anything CM herself wrote or taught. I think it's best to go directly to the source first so you're in a better position to judge where her modern interpreters are diverging from her ideas.

[mcconnellboys]

I like this, too, as well as Pocket Full of Pinecones.

 

Regena

[prairiegirl]

I really like 'When Children Love to Learn'. I also like Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss, but it deviates from CM's teachings. Foss does unit studies with CM undertones. CM purists would say that unit studies go totally against CM's teachings. Foss herself says that unit studies are not very CM, but she has a large family so you do what works for you and your family. I just liked reading yet another slant of using CM to fit real life.

 

I think Levison's writings and When Children Love to Learn would be good reads.

 

Julia

mom of 3(8,7,5)

[Lostinabook]

After reading the Original CM Series, I would buy For the Children's Sake & the Levison books. I would not buy the Andreola book. That was the book that led me to believe that I would never ever ever do a Charlotte Mason style education--it just seemed like such a lighweight view of education.

[Lenora in MD]

I really think that in order to implement cm methods well, you need to understand her philosophy. And really the best way to do that is to read her original series. Since you have young children, you could start with volume one for some specific suggestions. But volume 6 is also very important. Volume six is the last one she wrote, and it really is a summary of her life of learning about children's education. The last volume was written, I think, more than thirty years after the first volume. Her philosophy and methods did mature and change over that time period, so reading volume six can help you see where she ended up. I have read all the other books you mentioned, except for Pocketful of Pinecones, and I think the one I enjoyed the most was The Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. Reading that book was like sitting down with a good friend for an encouraging chat. The Levinson books offer more practical insights, although they seemed kind of short to me and still left me with questions.