[.ca] More Charlotte Mason Education: A Home Schooling How-To ... (ISBN 1891400177)

This book has been my saving grace!:
After reading both books by this author on the Charlotte Mason methods of teaching, I feel competent and competent to now begin homeschooling. While I have read countless numbers of books on homeschooling and been given lots of advice on different curricula, etc. I never felt quite sure of myself or "what method to use." I first learned about this book in another book called HOMESCHOOLING FOR FREE. I was intrigued by this method of short lessons with lots of subjects. As a former high school teacher all of the advice seemed sound and full of common sense. I now look forward to having the structure and the freedom that was lacking in other methods. The focus on nature, short lessons, and classic literature are what attracted me to this method and I hope to one day read the original books by Charlotte Mason herself. Until then, I thank this author for showing me the way. Since reading about the Charlotte Mason method I have slept soundly knowing that I can school my son at home and do it well.

Worth Buying Twice!:
I had to buy this book twice. I liked it so much that I recommended it and loaned it to a friend who never returned it. I purchased it a second time because I missed it so much. Very enjoyable reading with a great book list. I refer to it often along with "A Charlotte Mason Companion" and "Educating the Wholehearted Child." So go ahead. Buy two of each! Your friends will enjoy it/them too!

Not that great.:
I did not appreciate this book. It is an uptight and rigid book, which contains misinformation. The author often presents her opinions as facts, and her theological ideas leave a lot to be desired. . From now on, I will buy Dorothy and Raymond Moore's books.

Best overview of Charlotte Mason methods and ideas available:
I've been homeschooling for 10+ years and have been collecting books on Charlotte Mason's homeschooling methods for that long, as well. This little book is the best resource I've found for actually "doing" homeschooling in a Charlotte Mason style. It's not overly rigid or difficult to understand. Just pick a topic you want to do with your kids, open to that chapter, and you're off and running! I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who's interested in a child-friendly, learning-rich homeschooling environment for their home and school. I've also known several people who have been rescued from homeschool burn-out by reading, and implementing, this book. A+

A great resource jam-packed with advice:
I am happy to report this book is better written than the first of Levison's How-To books (there are two, this is her second one), plus there is much less Christian rhetoric in this second book. And it does provide wonderful condensed information about the Charlotte Mason's method of teaching. Levison offers lots of great advice on how to implement Mason's system, while providing wonderful quotes from Mason's written work from Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series . From reading both of Levison's how-to books, I feel I have a solid understanding of this method and can begin to successfully start teaching with this style. I'm also very inspired to read Charlotte Mason's original work, which I have just ordered on-line. There is one major downside to Levison's books though. I am quite shocked that these mainstream (somewhat) published books (which both Chapters and Amazon sell on-line) can be full of such unprofessional opinions which fill many of the pages inside. Let me preview one of my favourites, an excerpt from the Coping Strategies chapter from More Charlotte Education, pg 110: "Pack our bullet proof vest and proceed. Spend as much time as they allow. Mingle with the students and observe the teachers interacting with a classroom. I've done this several times and the outcome is always an overwhelming sense of confidence in my ability to educate my children. I often return from these visits saying, "If I can't do a better job with both hands tied behind my back and drunk then there's something wrong with me." Is this an appropriate thing to write?! I think not! I know she was probably just trying to be funny, but still! However, given all these opinions from the author, of which I mostly disagree with, I do enjoy Levison's writing style and I do like her. If you can positively skip over those extremely unprofessional, highly opinionated parts, then I recommend this book simply for the amazing amount of great advice on how to follow the Charlotte Mason method, and homeschooling in general. I'm excited to begin Mason's original work, and I feel that I now have a solid background to digest her writings (which are supposed to be quite intense).