Charlotte Mason Middle Ages Living Books for Middle School
Welcome to A Mother’s Thinking Love, a blog following our Charlotte Mason inspired homeschool. As part of our history plans this year, we have been studying the Middle Ages. Today, I want to share four books we are currently reading to study this fascinating time period. Keep reading to find Charlotte Mason Middle Ages living books for middle school.
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Why We Are Studying the Middle Ages in Middle School
After our studies in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome last year, it was time for us to move on to the Middle Ages. As part of our Charlotte Mason homeschool, we study two-three time periods of history concurrently each year. This blog post will only discuss one of those streams. I don’t remember studying the Middle Ages much when I was in school, so I was thrilled to begin.
Four Living Books for Our Middle Ages History Study
Four Living Books for Our Middle Ages History Study
A Castle with Many Rooms has served as our Middle Ages spine book. You can learn more about the concept of spine books here.
We read through the Famous Men series for both Greece and Rome last year and thoroughly enjoyed them, so we had to pick up the volume for the Middle Ages. This book tells the story of the Middle Ages through the lives of famous men and women in the time period. The brilliant story-telling style is supported through beautiful illustrations.
This book, also written in a living, narrative style, has helped to give us a picture of the Middle Ages through the architecture of the time period. Each section not only gives a glimpse of the building process but also of the lives of those who contributed their efforts to the projects.
There are many options for the story of Robin Hood, but I decided that we would use this version by Howard Pyle. While I questioned that decision many times in the early days, I am so happy we stuck with Mr. Pyle! His writing style is engaging, and his illustrations are idyllic. We have been listening to THIS audiobook version, and the narrator is fantastic.
How We Use These Books in a Charlotte Mason Homeschool
- Short Lessons
Although we are in the middle school years, we still utilize short lessons. For each reading from each book, we begin with a short review of the previous lesson’s reading. We read for 15-20 minutes. Then, we end with narration of that reading. This means each lesson, from each book, takes roughly 30 minutes.
- Slow Reading
We have been reading from all three books for the entire school year. We read from each book roughly once per week. We have found that Charlotte Mason was absolutely correct in recommending reading slowly through books. We have found that this method increases understanding and retention.
- Narration
We don’t use worksheets, projects, or tests. We use narration. You can learn more about narration HERE.
Studying the Middle Ages through living books, with Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, has made this an absolutely lovely school year. This list records only a handful of the books we have used to study this time period. I hope you have enjoyed finding these Charlotte Mason Middle Ages living books for middle school. Do you have favorite, living books that you enjoy for this time period? If so, please share them in the comments below!
