Poetry in a Charlotte Mason Homeschool

A century ago when Prussia was shipwrecked in the Napoleonic wars it was discovered that not Napoleon but Ignorance was the formidable national enemy; a few philosophers took the matter in hand, and history, poetry, philosophy, proved the salvation of a ruined nation, because such studies make for the development of personality, public spirit, initiative, the qualities of which the State was in need, and which most advance individual happiness and success. (Vol 6 page 5) 

If we talk about the problem of being uneducated, chances are, we would first think of things like reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic. But isn’t it funny that when Charlotte Mason talks about the fall of Prussia and its root being Ignorance, she points to “history, poetry, and philosophy” as the “salvation of a ruined nation.” 

Why is this so? Miss Mason believes that studying history, poetry, and philosophy in depth has the following benefits: 

1. It helps develop the personality 
2. It builds up the public spirit
3. It triggers initiative.

In the next passage, she links the study of poetry (along with history and a few others) to moral education, or what she calls the “education of the feelings:” 

This education of the feelings, moral education, is too delicate and personal a matter for a teacher to undertake trusting to his own resources. Children are not to be fed morally like young pigeons with predigested food. They must pick and eat for themselves and they do so from the conduct of others which they hear of or perceive. But they want a great quantity of the sort of food whose issue is conduct, and that is why poetry, history, romance, geography, travel, biography, science and sums must all be pressed into service. (Vol 6 page 59) 

She also describes the necessity for “a great quantity” of these sorts of mind food! 

Why do we need poetry in a CM homeschool? 

According to Miss Mason, children aged 9 and above should have, as part of their daily readings, “a good deal of poetry.” Let’s look at what she says about poetry and what role they play in a Charlotte Mason homeschool: 

…a good deal of poetry, to accustom him to the delicate rendering of shades of meaning, and especially to make him aware that words are beautiful in themselves, that they are a source of pleasure, and are worthy of our honour; and that a beautiful word deserves to be beautifully said, with a certain roundness of tone and precision of utterance…” (Volume 1, p. 227)

1. Poetry Shows Us the Beauty of Words 

Have you ever had that experience of savoring the words in a poem, because they taste almost delicious? I believe this is what Miss Mason meant when she said that poems make us aware of the beauty of words, in and of themselves. 

This is why, in a CM homeschool, we encourage the reading and singing of nursery rhymes from a young age, and then expose our children to poetry early. Some books we love for the preschool years include Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses and A.A. Milne’s poetry books. 

2. Poetry Accustoms Us to the Different “shades of meaning” 

Have you noticed that poems are great at showing many nuances of a word or a phrase? It challenges us to think beyond just the literal meaning of lines. Through this, we get a glimpse at the beauty behind just how the words sound. 

3. Poetry Gives Pleasure 

The artistic side of poems fill us with delight, both with the way the words are arranged as well as with the imagery and feelings the evoke. 

4. Poetry Gives us Models for our Lives 

You might find it odd to think of poems as giving us things to look up to. But the way that poems are written have a way of striking our hearts, especially when we mull over the lines that we love most! 

Poetry is, perhaps, the most searching and intimate of our teachers… Poetry, too, supplies us with tools for the modelling of our lives, and the use of these we must get at for ourselves. The line that strikes us as we read, that recurs, that we murmur over at odd moments-this is the line that influences our living…” (Volume 4, p. 71)

Enjoying Poetry in a Charlotte Mason Homeschool 

Lastly, let’s chew over this passage: 

“Many have a favourite poet for a year or two, to be discarded for another and another. Some are happy enough to find the poet of their lifetime in Spenser, Wordsworth, Browning, for example; but, whether it be for a year or a life, let us mark as we read, let us learn and inwardly digest. Note how good this last word is. What we digest we assimilate, take into ourselves, so that it is part and parcel of us, and no longer separable.” (Volume 4, p. 71)

Cheers to a lifetime of enjoying poetry with our children!