Charlotte Mason Preschool: -

Formidable List of Attainments by Age 6

“In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mother’s first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it for the most part out in the fresh air.”
Charlotte Mason. Vol. 1, p. 43

Can I explain these precious pre-school years any better than Charlotte Mason, herself? No, I really don’t think so, but I can shed light on how I am interpreting her wisdom in my home. I wholeheartedly concur with all that Miss Mason does say on the subject and try my best to heed her advise. There are many practical ways to implement these quiet growing years in our homes that best suit each of our children. Therefore, a Charlotte Mason Preschool may differ from every child, but there are a few non-negotiables.

preschool basket with charlotte mason list

First and foremost, the child should be “out of doors” as much as possible. Miss Mason knew the weight of God’s natural revelation and how it can reveal so much of who He is and how the world works to our little person.

“She [Mother] will point to some lovely flower or gracious tree, not only as a beautiful, but a beautiful thought of God, in which we may believe He finds continual pleasure, and which He is pleased to see his human children rejoice in.”
Charlotte Mason. Vol. 1, pp. 80

Miss Mason’s great respect for nature as the chief teacher, led her to rightfully include nature studies throughout her list of attainments for the child by age 6. This list, given in a curriculum outline in a Parent’s Review article in the summer of 1893, is delightfully refreshing to the modern family and equally challenging. This list is what Miss Mason believed pivotal in the early years of a child and should be gently acquired as he/she is ready. I created a beautiful, five page printable version of this list for us all to use to document the attainments of our child(ren) as they are accomplished. We can even use it as a keep sake of memories as they learn and grow before school-age.

As seen in the List of Attainments, beautiful stories and histories are also important in a young child’s development. Poems, Tales, National and Ancient stories are among the many encouraged. I use the books linked at the end of this post as a part of my weekly book rotation in my preschoolers school basket. By adding four to five books weekly, we naturally loop through the rich literature encouraged by Miss Mason. My son picks from the basket one story each day he wants to read together, and then I remove it until another week’s rotation.

The quick outline of how I set-up my sons weekly basket and bin goes as follow:

Select the five books I would like to use to help us achieve something on the list of attainments. (Think poems, Mother Goose rhymes, Aseops Fables, Country Heroes, Book of Heroes, etc.)
Make sure Preschool Math at Home is in there as well (if your child has progressed further, checkout this post).
I also keep a primary notebook in there for his free use
Select 4-5 different activities to go in the bin. (Puzzles, water paint, letters, pattern blocks, etc)