Living Books Form a Generous Curriculum

“The mind feeds on ideas, and therefore children should have a generous curriculum.”
—Charlotte Mason, Philosophy of Education

A generous curriculum, Miss Mason tells us, is built first of all of living books—books in which an author with a living interest in his subject addresses the child directly through language, story, and thought. In such books, knowledge is carried by the beauty and vitality of prose, not reduced to lists of facts to be mastered. The child meets courage in a story, loyalty in a choice, ingenuity in a problem faced and solved. These ideas arrive clothed, memorable, and whole.

When a rich feast of living books is given and allowed to be made the child's own through narration, then the fire within burns bright.

The Heart of Learning

By combining living books and narration we come to the heart of learning

A child in one of Miss Mason’s schools once said simply,

“I read, I narrate, I know.”

Miss Mason thought this child expressed perfectly why narration lies at the heart of learning.

Narration is the child’s natural act of taking possession. When a child tells back what he has read or heard, he is selecting, ordering, and shaping meaning. He discovers for himself what matters. This act, repeated over time, strengthens attention, judgment, and the assimilation of knowledge.

That Is Why Certain Books Matter So Much

A generous curriculum is one rich with living books—books that

• are written in a warm, narrative, or story-shaped voice
• convey ideas through people, events, and discovery
• stir curiosity or imagination
• linger in the mind long after reading
• leave a child wanting to read “just one more chapter”

We Are Pleased to Announce!

One author Charlotte Mason recommended again and again was Nathaniel Hawthorne.

She valued his retellings of myth because they offer children living pictures of moral character—courage tested, loyalty proved, ingenuity exercised, restraint chosen. These ideas are not explained or extracted. They are embodied in story and trusted to do their work quietly.

And this is where I want to pause and share my own delight. We just released The Annotated Wonder Book for Boys and Girls. This is Hawthorne's collection of Greek myths. All our favorites are there: Pandora's Box, Perseus and the Gorgon, Pegasus and the Chimera, and more.

Seeing A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls come to life —in a form meant to be enjoyed and returned to—has been a deep satisfaction for me. It feels like a true meeting point: Charlotte Mason’s confidence in living books, and the long, careful work of placing such a book into the hands of today’s families.

The annotations help the parent bring a rich understanding to the stories. To help with context and background and the ever helpful glossary.  

A generous curriculum sustains a homeschool. When the mind is well fed, effort no longer carries the entire burden. Learning begins to happen more organically.

This is how the fire in the bones is kept—by offering living ideas, day after day.