This week’s episode of A Delectable Education podcast reviews what Charlotte Mason had to say about Sunday school. Since many listeners write to ask about the application of Mason’s method in their church programs, we tackled the why, what and how of implementing a living
education for children outside our home.
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“That parents should make over the religious education of their children to a Sunday School is, no doubt, as indefensible as if they sent them for their meals to a table maintained by the public bounty.” (Vol. 2, p. 92)
“Nothing should do more to strengthen the bonds of family life than that the children should learn religion at the lips of their parents; and to grow up in a Church which takes constant heed of you from baptism or infancy, until, we will not say confirmation, but through manhood and womanhood, until the end, should give the right tone to corporate life.” (Vol. 2, p. 94)
Parents and Children (Volume 2), Chapter 10
Formation of Character (Volume 5), Part 3, Chapter 2
An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education (Volume 6), Book 2, Chapter 3
The Bible for School and Home, J. Paterson Smyth
(*Affiliate Links)
The PNEU Method in Sunday Schools, Miss Wix (PR Article)
A Letter Towards Sunday School with Charlotte Mason, Brittney McGann
Thank you so much for this wonderful episode. I have recently (within the past 6 months) taken over our Children’s Ministry and I have been striving to integrate Mason’s philosophy and methods into our Sunday Morning Experience. It has been a journey to bring along 20 teachers that have almost no knowledge of Mason! But already we are seeing the fruits of “doing Sunday School” this way. The teachers are enjoying themselves more, the children are actually learning and enjoying their time in the classroom and parents are always routinely voicing their appreciation and desire for more recommendations and resources.
It is a tremendous amount of work to alter the course of our previous Children’s Ministry, but it can be done! Thank you so much for inspiring and challenging fellow Mason homeschoolers to step up and lead in their various churches. It is such a fertile ground and it is so beautiful to behold.
We are thankful that our discussion has encouraged you and are, in turn, encouraged to hear how you are pioneering these life-giving ideas in your church.
– Liz