“We need not add that authority is just and faithful in all
matters of promise-keeping; it is also considerate, and that is
why a good mother is the best home-ruler; she is in touch with
the children, knows their unspoken schemes and half-formed
desires, and where she cannot yield, she diverts; she does not
crush with a sledge-hammer, an instrument of rule with which a
child is somehow never very sympathetic” (Vol. 3, p. 23).
What a challenge for me: to be a just mother, considerate and temperate with the kids.
It is too easy sometimes to be a sledge-hammer, coming down hard on the kids when I am tired and impatient and demand perfection when I myself am so far from perfection. !
Have so much to learn, still, about mothering....
“For let this be borne in mind, whatever ugly quality disfigures
the child, he is but as a garden overgrown with weeds: the more
prolific the weeds, more fertile the soil; he has within him every
possibility of beauty of life and character. Get rid of the weeds
and foster the flowers” (Vol. 2, p. 87)
“As has been well said,
‘Sow an act, reap a habit;
sow a habit, reap a character;
sow a character, reap a destiny’ ” (Vol. 2, p. 124)
Love Charlotte Mason's philosophies about upbringing and education - almost as much as I love Maria Montessori's philosophies. If I ever do get around to homeschooling the kids, I'll be integrating both Montessori and Charlotte Mason's ideals. Along with whatever formal curriculum I pick. CM gave nature study, time outdoors, music and art study equal weight with the traditional 3 Rs: Reading, Writing, and 'Rithmatic. More on her later.
