Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

This book is based on Charlotte Mason's writing, talking about home education. There's lots of common sense in this book, and some ideas which surprisingly overlap with the modern 'taking children seriously' non-coercive style of home education that's so popular in the UK. However as this book is written from a Christian perspective, there's some emphasis on discipline (in the gentlest of senses) alongside questions about creativity and mutual respect.

I initially read this as a resource about educational philosophy when I had decided to home school my oldest child through middle school. The reality is that, although this book is used to explain the Charlotte Mason ideology, it is so much more than an education book. The author talks about creating a stable environment for our children that fosters learning in a natural, creative way, nurturing a richness and quality of life that will last.

Excellent summary of Charlotte Mason's educational ideas and practices. MacAulay does a wonderful job of pulling out the most relevant Mason quotes and also has a lot of very thought-provoking words of her own.

A very interesting book indeed. A great read for those that are looking into using a Charlotte Mason method of education for their children.
I will admit some spots were a bit hard to read. I wasn't excatly sure what she was talking about once or twice, but overall it was an extremely informative book. I still need to do some more CM reading to really get it, and probably I need to put it into practice for a while and it will really start to make sense! LOL!