Meet Charlotte Mason: The 19th-Century Educator Who’s Basically Your Homeschool BFF (in a Corset)

Imagine if Mary Poppins and Professor McGonagall had a wise, book-loving cousin who was obsessed with nature walks, classic literature, and making sure kids weren’t bored to tears—that’s Charlotte Mason.

Living in Victorian England, Charlotte Mason was the original homeschool influencer (minus the Instagram reels). She believed kids are not "vessels to be filled" with dry facts but "persons"—tiny humans with souls, opinions, and brains that work in very complex ways. She championed short lessons, living books (aka no twaddle allowed), and narration (which is basically having your kid tell you what they just learned—bonus: it actually works).

Instead of rote memorization or endless worksheets, Mason’s method focuses on:

• Reading rich literature that doesn’t insult your child’s intelligence
  
  

• Daily nature walks that make you feel like Jane Goodall (even if you’re in yoga pants)
  
  

• Art and composer studies so your kids can casually name-drop Monet and Mozart at the dinner table

She believed in cultivating good habits, feeding the mind with ideas, and letting kids connect with great thinkers through books, not boring textbooks.

In short, Charlotte Mason is like the wise, tea-drinking aunt of homeschooling—firm but kind, a little old-fashioned, but still totally brilliant.

So if your ideal homeschool day involves reading under a tree, talking about Shakespeare over snacks, and skipping soul-sucking worksheets—Charlotte Mason might just be your homeschooling soulmate.