TIP #4: Serve a wide generous curriculum - Beginner Guide to Charlotte Mason

Charlotte Mason would often refer to her curriculum as a "feast". She would say that a child's mind should "feed on ideas". All of this conjures up images of serving your child a massive appetising banquet of a variety of many different and delicious foods and allowing your child to taste, test and try any or all of them. 

When we apply this to a home education or school curriculum, the aim is to not limit what your child is exposed to. Expose them to a wide variety of subjects. Learning is not just about the three R's: Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic. Children are fascinated by historical tales, famous artworks, beautiful musical pieces, haunting poetry, learning how to knit, knowing how to identify plants in their neighbourhood ... the list goes on and on. A child's mind needs this variety. It enriches their education, giving them many hooks to hold on to as they learn more and more each year. These subjects also help to shape your child's character instead of merely preparing your child for a job one day.

For children under the age of 9 (or Form 1), Charlotte Mason required them to learn no less than 17 different subjects. Even if you grouped some of the subjects together, for example grouping Writing, Recitation, Tales and Reading under "English", you're still left with at least 12 subjects, which is much more than most countries' national core curricula.

This might seem very daunting, but the aim is not to do all of these subjects every day, but rather to add variety throughout your child's week. Some subjects are covered for only 15 minutes once a week. It's the variety itself that will keep your child's interest and ensure they don't get bored of the same old lessons every day.